


The Prince of Beacon Hills

by Dreamer727



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Anal Play, Arranged Marriage, Attempted Seduction, Blow Jobs, M/M, Prince Stiles, Protective Derek, Secret Crush, Sexual Humor, War, denying feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-02-18 09:24:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2343407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamer727/pseuds/Dreamer727
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is a prince and Derek is the head of his Royal Guard.  Stiles is in love with Derek and tries to seduce him whenever he can.  Derek denies his feelings for Stiles because of his sense of honor.  Stiles is arranged to be married and Derek doesn't want to get in the way of that.  Once Stiles turns 25 he must marry Princess Lydia of Brentwood, so that the two kingdoms can join forces to stop former knight, Peter Hale, from taking over both of the kingdoms. After Stiles' birthday, Derek and a few of his most trusted guard, accompany Stiles to Brentwood where he can get to know his future bride better before marrying her.  Along the way, they meet some interesting and not so nice people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I think this story will probably be my most favorite story to write. I hope you all enjoy.

“Prince Stiles are you in here!” The head of the Prince’s Royal Guard Brigade, Sir Derek Hale, yelled frantically as he busted down the door to the backroom of the shady tavern located in the more seedy part of the kingdom where crime constantly never ends.  He and his two second in commands, Sir Vernon Boyd and Sir Jordan Parrish, rushed into the room.  They came to a stop when they saw the shocked faces of five bandits sitting around a table eating their meager dinner.  The guards looked to the corner and there sat the prince, tied up with rope and a piece of cloth tied around his mouth preventing him from speaking.  Once Sir Derek had time to assess the whole room, he put down his sword and sighed.

The bandits had not made a move to grab their swords, once they saw that the armed men were a part of the Royal Guard. Everyone within in the kingdom knew of Sir Derek’s prowess and they all knew he was not one to be messed with if one was not confident in their own abilities. They quickly held their hands up in surrender and backed away from their own swords.  They were frightened, but their faces had confused looks on them wondering why one of the most skilled knights in the whole kingdom had just sighed and no longer looked worried.  They were even more shocked when the other two guards started chuckling, but were trying to act like they weren’t.  They got their answer when Sir. Derek spoke.  “Prince Stiles, the King made you go through the same training as me for five years, so I know you aren’t really tied up.  Will you please get yourself out of those ropes and come here.”  Derek gritted out between his teeth.

The bandits looked over to the prince and their eyes went wide in disbelief by what they saw. The prince looked contrite as he quickly stood up and pushed the ropes off of his body and took the cloth out of his mouth.  The bandits were all thinking the same thing at this point.  They knew that those ropes were good and tight and that no normal man could break them.  So how could the prince easily slip out of them like it was nothing?

“Derek I’m so glad you got here in time!” Prince Stiles said with relief.  “These horrible men did such unspeakable things to me!  Did you see how they GAGGED ME?!!!!”  Prince Stiles looked so scared.

The bandits quickly protested and one of them spoke up quickly. “We have not touched him!  We only tied ‘em up because he wouldn’t stop bloody talking.”

“HE LIES! They told me they were all going to rape me and sell me as a sex slave on the black market!”  Stiles crossed his arms and dramatically shuddered at the thought of what these bandits were planning to do to him.

“Bollocks!!! No we wasn’t.  We know who he is.  We was just going to hold ‘em ransom, and then return him safe and sound.”  The bandit looked at the other bandits who quickly nodded agreeing with their mate.

“Derek, that is not—.”

“ENOUGH!” Sir Derek exclaimed as he held up his hand.  He turned to his comrades.  “Boyd.  Parrish.  Take these men out of here to the jail.  Prince Stiles come with me!  Luckily, your father has not gotten word of your latest shenanigans.”  Sir Derek walked out and didn’t even see if the prince had followed him because he knew he would.  He walked past all of the patrons in the front of the shady tavern and ignored all of the curious looks he and the Prince were getting.  Once he was outside he walked over to his black horse, Midnight, and got on him.  He was more annoyed than mad at the prince for all of these crazy stunts he kept pulling.  He knew the prince was really just trying to find an outlet for the frustration he was feeling for his upcoming 25th birthday.  Once the prince turned 25 he would need to prepare for his impending arranged marriage to Princess Lydia of Brentwood.  Derek just wished he could find a new outlet that didn’t involve him always thinking the prince was in danger and coming to his rescue only to find out it was a false alarm.

“Derek,” Stiles whined, “they really did try to rape me! I think you need to give me a full body check just to make sure they haven’t done any permanent damage to my body.”  Stiles said with an innocent face as he looked up at Derek.

“Stiles,” Derek shook his head, “I am not in the mood. Get.  On.  The.  Horse!”  Derek held his hand out and Stiles reluctantly took his hand with a pout as he was pulled up on to the horse.  Prince Stiles quickly put his arms around Derek putting his hands conveniently over Derek’s crotch.  Derek quickly moved Stiles’ hands away as he urged Midnight forward.  Derek let out the sigh he had been doing for years after he became the head of Stiles’ Royal Guard.  The sigh was reserved for anytime that the Prince got himself into some type of mischief, which seemed to happen a lot!  He and Stiles had known each other since they were little when Derek’s father had become the Head of the Royal Guard for King John Stilinski.  Derek was always told that one day it would be his job to protect the prince, so he started training at the tender age of 13 to prepare for his future job.

When they were growing up, it was always Derek’s job to protect Stiles, so it was no wonder that the Prince always looked up to his personal body guard. In the beginning it was hero worship, but as the years went on, that admiration had started to turn in to infatuation, much to Derek’s ire.  Once the prince had started to develop feelings for Derek, he never missed an opportunity to try and seduce his handsome bodyguard.  No matter how many times Derek had told Stiles no, Prince Stiles had never stopped trying to get with him.  The prince came up with one stunt after another, but made no progress.  Now, half of the time Stiles had another problem to deal with, his looming wedding.  He had to deal with getting out of a marriage he didn’t want to a women he didn’t love and it was more than what he could handle.  He wanted to be with the man he loved, but his title wouldn’t let him.  In order to try and cope with his misery at what it meant to be the Prince of Beacon Hills, he made both his and Derek’s life difficult.

It was a silent, but tense ride for the prince and his bodyguard as they made their way back to the castle. Prince Stiles knew he was in for a lecture he would rather do without, but there was no stopping Sir Derek when he was in one of his “moods”.  Once they made it back to the castle stables, Stiles hopped down quickly off of Midnight and ran into the castle knowing Derek would come to his chambers once he had finished bedding down Midnight for the night.  Stiles wanted to postpone the looming lecture for as long as he could.  He scurried to his room and found his hand servant, Scott, waiting for him.  Scott was also Stiles’ best friend and Stiles’ unlucky partner in crime when it came to all of the crazy stunts Stiles came up with.  For example, that night it was Scott who had ran and told Derek that the prince had been kidnapped by bandits when he and the prince had snuck out of the castle to explore the main market at night.

“Oh thank god you’re back!” Scott said as he rushed up to check the prince for any injuries.  “I was really worried those bandits might have done something horrible to you after you walked up and told them who you were.”

Stiles snorted and slapped at Scott’s hands. “I’m fine.  Derek and his two lackeys came as usual to rescue me, but those cowards didn’t even try and engage in a fight!  I can’t believe they call themselves bandits!  They just gave up.”  Stiles was angry that another of his plans was foiled and now he was going to be on the receiving end of another of Derek’s famous chastisements.  It was all for nothing.  “Scott we must hurry and barricade the doors!  Derek will be on his way any moment now to scold me for putting my life in danger again.”  There was a knock at the door and Stiles jumped behind Scott’s back trying to hide from the person at the door because he thought it was Derek.  “Don’t let him in Scott.”

Scott rolled his eyes fed up with the Prince’s dramatic antics. “I can’t believe you will be the future leader of this kingdom one day.”  Scott said with disdain as he went to answer the door.  Prince Stiles let out a yelp as he tried to rush to hide behind some curtains.  When Scott opened the door it was Isaac, another one of the Prince’s servants bringing in the hot water for the Prince’s bath.  “Come in Isaac.”  Scott turned to the prince.  “I thought you would like to take a bath once you got back, so I was making preparations for your return.”

“Oh!” Stiles came out from behind the curtains.  “Good idea Scott.  Hey Isaac!  How are you?”

“A lot better than you will be in a few minutes when Sir Derek comes to talk to you.” Isaac laughed.  “I just talked to Liam.  He was coming from the stables and he said Derek looked like he was ready to kill someone.  What did you do now to make the normally most stoic man in the entire kingdom, so mad…again!”

“He let himself be captured by seedy bandits that he easily could have fought himself!” Scott chimed in.

“Yep, that’ll do it. I better put this water in the tub quick and scram.  I don’t want any of that anger directed at me!”  Isaac quickly went to fill the tub in the bathing room connected to Prince Stiles’ bedchambers.  Scott agreed and went to go grab a towel and the prince’s nightclothes, so that they would be on hand for the prince when he got done with his bath.

“Hey! What’s the rush guys?  You should stay and relax for a moment.  Derek and his misplaced sense of duty can wait!”  The prince said as he stood watching the two men move around in his room.

Scott set the towel and clothes down on a chair. “And have to watch your naked butt bath?”  Scott looked like Stiles had just suggested they should have an orgy.  “No thank you.  That is one nightmare I can do without.”

“I agree.” Isaac said from the other room.  “We see enough of you while you’re dressed.  We don’t need any extra.”  Stiles crossed his arms and sat down while he waited for his two servants to finish doing what they were doing.  Once they were done and had left his rooms, Stiles started talking off his dirty clothes.  Hopefully he could be done in a little bit and be in bed when Derek came.  That way he could act like he was asleep when Derek came to knock on his door.  His bad luck streak continued though as Derek knocked while he was getting ready to get out of his bath.

“Stiles, I know you’re awake, so let me come in.”

Stiles huffed, but then smiled sneakily. “It’s open Derek!  I’m in the other room just finishing getting ready for bed.”  He stood up in his tub at the exact moment Derek stood at the entrance to the bathing room.  The prince was completely naked standing there with a seductive smile on his face.  Derek stood there frozen for a second before he covered his eyes and backed up out of the room.

“Prince Stiles you should have told me you were _not decent_!”  Sir Derek screeched.

“Well, I would have, but you told me to let you in, and there wasn’t time before you came in here.” Stiles tried to say in the most sincere voice he could muster.  He quickly dried himself when it was obvious the sight of his glorious nude body was not going to distract his stubborn guard.

“Oh I highly doubt that, but I refuse to argue further with you on the matter, especially when I have more pressing matters to discuss with you.”

The prince sighed as he came into his bedchambers fully dressed. “I know.  Please continue, so we can get this lecture over with as soon as possible.”  Stiles moved to sit on his bed, so he could have a good view of Derek and his glorious body.  Derek had taken off the chainmail he wears during the day, so now he was just wearing his simple black velvet pants and white gambeson.  His clothes were a little bit dirty from working all day, but Stiles did not mind one bit.  He loved this man and could look at him all day no matter what he wore.  The dirt just reminded the prince how hard working and dedicated his knight was to keeping him safe.  Stiles checked the prince out from head to toe starting at the bottom.  He loved to see how Derek’s pants could not hide his impressive bulge that Stiles would love to have the opportunity to play with if the knight ever gave him a sign he was open to the idea.

 _A bulge like that should be worshipped_.  The prince thought.

Stiles next moved up Derek’s body to stare Derek’s chest. He was thinking about the fact that he knew how impressive and muscular it was underneath the undershirt.  Stiles licked his lips thinking about how much he wanted to lick Derek’s body all over.  It took a lot of self-control right then to keep himself from getting aroused.  The loose garments he was currently wearing would definitely give his thoughts away to the man he just wanted to ravish or mostly have ravish him.  He finally made his way to stare into the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen, which were currently looking at him with annoyance and frustration.

“Stiles I know you are mad about your upcoming fate, but that is no reason to keep pulling these stunts. My men and I are here to protect you against ‘real’ threats and we should not have to keep dealing with all of these false alarms.”

“I know Derek, I’m sorry for all of the trouble I have caused all of you.” Stiles looked down at the floor in a pose that he had perfected throughout the years.  It was his apology pose that made him look like a little boy being scolded by his father for something bad he had done.  He usually used it with his father, but recently Derek has been on the receiving end of it.

“I don’t believe you. You’ve said this exact same line the last four times I’ve brought you back to the castle.  You need to grow up and be more responsible.  You one day will be king and you need to start acting like it.”

“Yes, Derek you’re right.”

“I know I’m right! I just need you to understand why I am and another thing…don’t bring your servants in on your tricks as accomplices.  I told Parrish to talk to Scott after he is done at the jail about not encouraging your tricks by being a part of them.”  Derek sighed.  “You will one day be king and in order to be ready for that job, you need to start setting a good example for your kingdom.”

“I will I promise.” Stiles crossed his arms and looked up into Derek’s eyes with fire in his own.  “It’s just that…I don’t want to get married!  At least not to some princess I’ve never even met!  I don’t love her.  I love you Derek.  When will you stop denying us both our happiness and just admit you love me too?!!!”  Stiles wailed.

Derek stared at the prince with a look of exhaustion. This was a claim he had heard many times before and it still broke his heart every time he heard it, but there was nothing he could do.  Sir Derek was respected throughout the kingdom for his sense of duty and in this case, his duty was to make sure Stiles married Princess Lydia.  “Stiles,” Derek said softly, “when will you get this ridiculous notion out of your head.  I have never once given you the idea that I felt anything more for you than the deep friendship we have developed over the years.”  Derek went to sit down next to Stiles on his bed.  “I do love you, but not in that way.  Besides, you are a prince, and I…I am just your servant.  Also, let’s not forget that you are a man.”  Derek tried to laugh, but it sounded fake to his own ears.  “I have never allowed a man into my bed, nor do I ever plan to.”  Derek tried ruffling Stiles’ hair, but Stiles slapped his hand away.  Derek sighed.  “Before the end of next month, you will be married to the princess.  It is your duty to honor the peace treaty your father signed with King Bobby Finstock to join the two kingdoms in harmony.”

“Fuck that shit! Why should I have to honor some agreement that I was not even able to give my consent on?  I was never asked what I thought Derek!  I do not love her and despite what you say, my feelings for you are real.  If you choose not to take me seriously, then you can leave.”  Stiles got up off of his bed and walked to go open his bedroom door.  Scott and Isaac both fell flat on their faces when Stiles had opened the door giving away the fact that they had been listening the whole time.  Stiles glared at them as they quickly picked themselves up off of the floor.  They were both embarrassed and their cheeks were red from blushing.  They smiled sheepishly at Stiles and Derek and then took off running down the corridor.

Derek got up off of Stiles’ bed and put his hands up in a placating gesture. “Stiles, don’t be this wa—.”

“I SAID GET OUT!!!!!!!” With a look of regret, Derek walked by Stiles out of the room.  He looked at the prince with pleading eyes willing him to understand, but the only thing Stiles did was slam the door in his face.  He stood there for a minute or so to see if Stiles would change his mind and open the door again, but he never did.  Derek put his hand on the door.

 _Oh my sweet Prince. You are right with your declaration of what my feelings are for you, but this world is a harsh one and it will not allow us to be together.  We both have our places in the world and no matter what we may wish; we cannot change them to benefit us.  I took a vow to always protect and keep you safe and that’s what I will always do no matter what!_   Derek took one last look at the closed door and then turned to start walking down the hall to his own chambers.

**▪▪▪**

**THE NEXT DAY**

“You requested my presence father.” The prince said as he walked into the main hall.  His father was sitting on his throne and a couple of his own personal guards were there, standing on both sides of him including Derek’s father, Sir Frederick Hale.  Some of his father’s most trusted advisors were in the room as well.  Stiles didn’t really care for any of them except for Deaton.  He was always kind to Stiles and the prince thought he was the only of the advisors that actually gave sound advice.

“Yes, I did son.” King John said.  “Gentleman,” the king said to his advisors, “if you will please excuse me, I wish to talk to my son alone.”  The advisors quickly got up and left.  The guards remained because they were never supposed to leave the king’s side.  Deaton waved goodbye to the Prince as he headed out the door.  “Stiles.”  The prince’s attention quickly returned to his father.  “It has come to my attention that last night you were up to another one of your schemes.  Don’t bother denying it because I have already confirmed it to be true.”

“Who told you?” Stiles said with anger. _I can’t trust anyone to keep a secret it seems._

“Don’t worry; it was not one of your friends that told me. You forget that I am the King!  I haves spies all over this kingdom, so if I want to find out something, I will.  What I want to know is why you insist on continuing with these stupid games?”  The king narrowed his eyes.  “You are a prince and it is about time you start acting like one.  You will soon be married, and you owe it to your wife to be a respectable husband.”

“That’s just it father! I DON’T WANT TO MARRY THE PRINCESS!  Why should I have to marry someone I don’t love?”  Stiles never backed down like everyone else in the kingdom did when his father raised his voice.  The only other person who did that was Sir Frederick.  Like Stiles and Derek, King John and Sir Fredrick had been friends growing up as well.  At this moment Sir Frederick was standing to the right of his father, looking at the prince with sadness in his eyes.  The fight that the king and prince were getting in to, his one he had heard a thousand times already.  He just did his job and kept his mouth shut as usual and let the two royals fight it out.

“Because I agreed to it in the treaty I signed with King Bobby to form an alliance with his kingdom. With all of the recent raids happening in the country sides of both kingdoms, an alliance is more crucial than ever.  Peter and his men must be stopped.”

A silence fell over the room as everyone thought about the former knight, Peter Hale, that had betrayed his king by running off and creating his own army to battle against the kings for control of the kingdoms. No one felt the sting of the betrayal quite as much like his brother and nephew, Sir Frederick and Sir Derek.  Every day Peter’s army was growing stronger.  War had not been declared yet, but it was inevitable.  Peter’s army had been doing small pillages on some of the smaller villages in both the kingdoms of Beacon Hills and Brentwood.

“In less than 3 fortnights, you will marry Princess Lydia, and then our armies will join forces. This is the only way we will be able to defeat Peter.”

“But father why can’t we just change the arrangements of the treaty just a little bit? We can still combine our armies, but this way I won’t have to get married.”

“I’m sorry Stiles, but arrangements have already been made. You are going to marry the princess and that is the end of this discussion.  You should focus on more important things like your upcoming Birthday Ball.”  The king smiles and tried to get his son to do the same, but Stiles wouldn’t look at him.  The king let out a sigh filled with sadness.  “You need to understand that I am still the King and what I say goes.”

Stiles looked at the king with disappointment clearly being seen in his eyes. “Oh, I understand completely father.  You are a cruel man to deny his only son happiness.”  After Stiles made that statement, he quickly left the room, ignoring his father calling his name to try and get him to stop.  Stiles collides with Derek in the hallway, but Derek grabs Stiles before he could fall to the floor.

“Woah there! Stiles is everything ok.”

“Oh like you care.” Stiles fights his way out of Derek’s hold and continues walking away.  He’s not sure where he’s headed, but he does know he needs to get away from all of these men who were deciding Stiles’ future without even consulting him.

Derek watches Stiles walk away from him with sorrow written all over his face, but there is nothing he can do about it. The King had summoned him and he would be fool to keep the King waiting just so he could see what had upset the prince so.  Maybe Derek was a fool because he was debating doing just that, but he decided Stiles needed his space at the moment, so he walked into the main hall and bowed when he stood before his king.

“You summoned me sire.” Derek said politely.  Derek’s head nodded in acknowledgement when he looked at his father.

“Yes, I did. I needed to see you to tell you about the plans I have for Stiles after his birthday.”

“And what would those plans be King John?”

“I know you have definitely been a victim to my son’s tirade over his upcoming arranged marriage and I wanted to tell you about the surprise I have set up to try and appease Stiles.”

Derek silently laughed to himself. “With all due respect sire, I highly doubt that you can do anything that would pacify Stiles’ feeling about the wedding besides ending it.”

“That may be true Derek, but I can maybe at least do something to take away some of Stiles’ concerns about this marriage.

“Such as sire?”

“Such as arranging for Stiles to travel to Brentwood and spend some time getting to know the princess. I believe if he could connect with her on a deeper level he wouldn’t be so adamant about trying to stop the wedding.”

Derek had to think about this. “That…could possibly work sire.”

The King smiled and so did Derek’s father. Sir Frederick knew he raised his son right, especially on how to deal with a king and his crazy demands.  “Good. Two weeks after Stiles’ birthday I want you and your most trusted comrades to accompany Stiles on his journey.  With all of the recent attacks made by Peter, I can’t take any chances with the safety of Stiles’ life.”  Derek’s eyes grew hard at the mention of his traitorous uncle.  He had to get his anger under control.

“Of course sire. With the prince being your son, you would need a whole army to protect him.”  This time the King burst out laughing.

“You are correct on that one. Trouble just seems to find him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I enjoy reading your comments, and thank you for the kudos. Next chapter will be up soon after I figure out how I want this story to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Scott tapped Prince Stiles on the arm when no one was looking to get his attention. “Ow!  That hurt Scott!  What did you do that for?”

“It’s your birthday ball dummy. You _need_ to smile and show people you’re happy, or at least fake like you are.”  Scott hissed at him under his breath.

Stiles frowned, not really in the mood to fake anything at the moment. “Why should I?  Once this night is over, my father is going to send me off to get know a woman I am fated to marry.  A woman I don’t love and have never even met before.  This sucks royally.  I think I might cry.”

“You’re a prince Stiles, so suck it up!” Scott went to hit Stiles again, but Stiles grabbed his arm behind his back and blocked him.  Stiles smiled and thanked a Lord and Lady that had come up to wish him a happy birthday all while Still holding Scott’s hand, so his friend couldn’t hit him anymore.  As soon as the couple had walked off, Scott yanked his hand out of Stiles grasp and the two frowned at each other.

“What difference does that make? It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to!”  Scott rolled his eyes at the prince’s dramatic antics.

“You should go dance with some of the ladies of the kingdom. Don’t you see how their smiling at you?”  Scott indicated with his head to the crowd of young ladies coyly smiling at the prince behind their fans.  Prince Stiles eyed them out the corner of his eyes and sniffed.

“More like they’re sizing me up to be there next meal. Apparently my upcoming betrothal isn’t going to deter them in the least from trying to snag a prince.”  The years Stiles had of etiquette training forced him to politely bow to the ladies before he turned away from them giving them his back. _It’s better to not encourage them or else they might come over here_.

“You should be happy to have so many beautiful women vying for your affections. It’s good to be a prince.”  Isaac said as he walked up towards them carrying cup of ale for the prince.  Stiles took the cup from Isaac with a frown.

“Not if I can’t have the only beautiful _person_ I wish would be vying for my affections.”  All three of them looked over to a corner to watch Sir Derek.  He was wearing his best uniform standing tall with both arms behind his back watching the crowd.  He looked even more handsome with his pristine uniform and various medals glistening in the firelight.  Boyd and Parrish were standing with him dressed in similar uniforms, but in Stiles opinion, they could never compare to his handsome knight.  The three guards watched the crowd for any trouble that might occur.  They all smiled cordially at the various maidens that walked past them, but their eyes were always attentive of everyone in their vicinity. _His uniform looks so good on him, but it would look even better on my bedroom floor, so that I could see the gorgeous knight underneath those clothes._ Stiles sighed at the injustice that was his life.  Being the prince wasn’t as glamorous as people thought.  He never had any privacy and besides just worrying about his family, he had an entire kingdom to fret over.  Plus, there was the fact that his whole life was dictated for him from the moment of his birth.  He wasn’t even allowed to choose who he wanted to marry.

“Stiles, you must stop torturing yourself by pining over Sir Derek. He has told you numerous times that he does not love you and his interests lie with women only.  His job is to protect you and you should stop making it difficult for him by getting yourself into trouble all the time.”  Scott scolded him while Isaac nodded in agreement.

“We know you don’t want to marry Princess Lydia, or _any_ women to be truthful, but you must honor the King’s treaty that he signed.”  Isaac stated.  “You can always find a male lover after you have performed your duties as Crown Prince of Beacon Hills by producing an heir.”

Prince Stiles harrumphed at that statement. “He made the choice to marry me off, not me!”  Stiles crossed his arms.  “He should be the one who has to marry the princess, but…you and Scott are right.  I am a prince and as such, I must start acting like one.”  It hurt Stiles to say that, but he had no other choice.  Derek didn’t want him, and there was no other he would ever love the way he loved Derek, so the only other option he had was to go along with his father’s wishes.  Stiles frowned for a moment, but then he shook off his melancholy and signaled to a servant to bring over two more cups for his friends.  His friends and Stiles raised their cups.  “But since this is my birthday, let us drink and celebrate the fact that I am twenty and five years old!”  They smacked their cups together and chugged their cups of ale.

**▪▪▪**

“I think our fair prince is drunk.” Boyd said quietly while trying not to laugh.  Parrish was shocked by the thought and Derek just shook his head furiously.

“He knows better than to get smashed, especially at his own party. The King would have his head.”  Sir Derek said as he searched for his reckless prince within the large crowd gathered tonight to celebrate his birthday.  He saw King John talking with some of his advisors and their wives in one corner.  In another corner, Derek saw the prince’s “fan club”.  He had his hands full with making sure these women didn’t get their evil clutches into the prince by continuously trying to compromise him.  These women were devious as Sir Derek very well knew.  A few of them had even turned their affections towards him in the hopes of bagging the most popular knight in the kingdom.  Derek could only turn down so many propositions before he did something foolish; like blurt out that he was in love with the man he had sworn to protect at all costs, even if that meant protecting the prince from Sir Derek himself.  His eyes bugged out and he cursed when he finally found the prince.  He was indeed drunk as everyone that chose to look at them could see.  He and his friends were trying to hold each other up by leaning against each other with their arms over each other’s shoulders.  They seemed to be swaying back and forth and were singing a tune that made no sense.  The men had drawn a little crowd that were pointing and laughing at them.  The gossipers could not wait to spread this information around their beloved prince.

Derek looked at them with horror and then his eyes returned to see if King John had noticed his son’s drunkenness. Luckily, the king was still involved in his conversation and had not seen his son yet.  Derek thanked the Gods for small favors as he quickly made his way to the prince and his companions.  Boyd and Parrish trailed behind him.  It only took a moment to reach Stiles.  He grabbed his arm to bring him in close of enough, so no one would hear him as he chastised the prince.

“Stiles,” Derek hissed, “could you be ever so gracious and tell me what in the world do you think you are doing right now!”

Stiles narrowed his eyes when someone grabbed him. How dare someone stop him in the midst of singing his song, not even caring that it didn’t make sense.  When he realized who had grabbed him, he relaxed his face and smiled.  “Derek!  Come join us with a drink as we celebrate my birthday!”  Stiles slurred his speech.  Scott and Isaac cheered in the background as they kept swaying while leaning against each other.  He frowned when he looked down at Derek’s hands and saw he was not holding a cup.  “You don’t have a cup.  Someone,” Stiles’ voice got louder, “bring me another—.”

Derek pulled Stiles along behind him as he made his way out of the ballroom. Boyd and Parrish had grabbed Scott and Isaac and ushered them towards the doors as well.  People were looking at the group with question and concern in their eyes and Derek smiled at them, trying to show that everything was fine.  He had to make sure the king didn’t see Stiles like this or else they both would be in trouble.  He was happy that his own father wasn’t in the ballroom at the moment because he was doing a perimeter check of the castle.  Being yelled at by the king was bad enough.  He didn’t want to think about what his father would do.

They made it to the doors that lead into the ballroom without anyone stopping them to see what was going on. Derek directed the group passed the room being used for holding the guests’ coats and down another hallway.  He stopped when he knew for sure that they were alone.  He let Stiles go, but then he had to rush to catch him before he slid to the floor.  The drunken prince felt like dead weight in his arms as he tried to keep him upright.  Stiles, the brat, did nothing to try and help him.  In fact, he tried to press himself up more against Derek as he looked up and smiled at him mischievously.

“Oh Derek! Are you going to give me my birthday kiss now?”  Prince Stiles puckered his lips and waited for the kiss from his handsome guard.  Sir Derek looked at him with disbelief and annoyance written clearly on his face.  He rolled his eyes and removed his arms from the prince causing him to fall flat on his face.  “Hey!  How dare you!  I am a prince!”

“Yeah a drunk one!” Scott blurted out as he and everyone else besides Derek and Stiles laughed at what just happened.  Then Scott let out a small burp.  Stiles glared at them all as he slowly got back to his feet.  He almost fell again, but he caught himself just in time.

“I think all three of you are drunk.” Derek said as he crossed his arms and looked disapprovingly at all three of them.  Boyd and Parrish hung back to make sure nobody walked up on them.  They smiled behind Derek’s back as they tried to control their laughter at the sight before them.  Their beloved prince and his two faithful servants looked like children being scolded for doing something bad.

“I’m not drunk! I have more class than that.”  Isaac declared.  He looked offended that Derek would even suggest that he was.  Then, he started to look queasy as he grabbed his stomach and turned to throw up.  Luckily for everyone’s sake, it was a false alarm.  Prince Stiles and Scott looked at Isaac with disgust.  They were both thinking at least they knew how to hold their liquor.

“Jeez Isaac, you are such a lightweight. It was only a couple cups of ale.”  Stiles taunted.

“Yeah,” Scott joined in, “next time we will give you the fruity tasting wine that the women drink.”

The three friends started bickering with each other and Derek was beside himself. He turned to his two comrades, but they offered him no help as they both openly laughed and grabbed their sides because they were laughing so hard.  Derek shook his head as he turned back around.  “Enough!”  Derek yelled grabbing the attention of the three angry friends.  “All three of you are drunk and you should be ashamed of yourselves.  What would the king say if he saw his son and his two servants acting like drunken fools in his kingdom?”  The three men were silent as they look down at the floor with guilt etched on their faces.  “You all will be going to your rooms where you will remain for the rest of the night.  Understand?”

“But—.” Stiles started.

“No buts! Boyd, make sure Isaac gets back to his room and Parrish do the same for Scott.  I will take care of our unruly prince.”  His men nodded and rushed to carry out his order.  Stiles waved at his friends as they were ushered away.  He was completely oblivious at how mad Derek was to have found him drunk in the ballroom.  The only thing Stiles was thinking about was the fact that he had the man he loved escorting him back to his room, his big empty room.  It was a struggle for them both because every five seconds Stiles tried to grope and kiss Derek.  “Stiles you need to stop this and let me help you to your bedchambers.”

“Nooooo Derek! Let me help you…get out of that sexy uniform!”  Stiles’ hands went to pull at Derek’s uniform pants and that was the last straw for Derek.  He picked the prince up and threw him over his shoulder.  Stiles protested at first, but a hard slap to his ass made him stop instantly.  Satisfied that Derek had finally gotten through to Stiles, he started down the long corridor that led to Stiles’ bedchambers.  They were both very fortunate that no one saw them in the hallway or they would have had some explaining to do.  Derek let out a breath of relief when he finally made it to the door of the bedchambers.  He opened it and walked inside with the prince.  Stiles had become eerily quiet, but Derek thought that he had finally passed out.  He walked and stood in front of Stiles’ huge bed.

Derek laid the prince down gently on his bed and as he was getting ready to back away from the bed, Stiles attacked. He shot up off the bed and wrapped his arms and legs around Derek and pulled him down on top of him.  The prince’s grip was so tight, that Derek knew that if he wanted the prince to let go, he was going to have to hit him.  That was just something he couldn’t do, and Stiles, the ass, knew it.  Derek cursed the training that the king made Stiles go through, so that he would be able to defend himself against attacks.  Derek tried to pull Stiles’ arms off of him for a few more seconds, but eventually gave up.  He tried another tactic, stupid as it was, reasoning with the prince.

“Stiles,” Derek cooed, “you need to let me go, so I can leave. You’re drunk and not in control of your senses.”  Derek placed his palm gently on Stiles’ cheek when what he really wanted to do was squeeze Stiles’ throat, so that he would let him go.

“No Derek! I won’t let you go…unless you give me a birthday kiss, a proper one!”  Stiles drunkenly whined.

Derek looked heavenward praying the answer to this mess would be in the sky. There wasn’t anything up there except the ceiling.  “Stiles, I’m not going to kiss you!  I told y—.”

“Kiss me! KISS ME!!!  KISS—.”  Derek put his hand over the prince’s mouth to keep him from shouting anymore.  If he did it any louder, he knew someone would eventually hear them and come investigating.  Stiles continued to speak even though Sir Derek had his mouth covered, which frustrated him all the more.  Derek stared down at Stiles and saw the intent look in his eyes.  He sighed in frustration, but he was determined to keep trying to reason with the prince.

“If I take my hand off, do you promise to be quiet?” Stiles nodded his head yes to Derek’s question.  They looked at each other as Derek slowly removed his hand.  They stared at each other as if they were in a trance where neither of them spoke.  Stiles was the one to finally break the silence.

“Kiss me!” Stiles whispered.  “Please,” the look in Stiles’ brown eyes nearly killed Derek just then, “just once let me know what it is like to be kissed by the only man I will ever love.”  Derek hated for his sweet prince to sound so desperate.

_You should never have to beg me for anything my love_.  Derek continued to look into the prince’s pleading eyes.  He brushed some of his hair off of his face and leaned down to give his prince what he wanted.  Derek knew that any kiss they shared would be amazing…he just wasn’t expected the blast of euphoria he first got when their lips met.  It was like a fire was traveling through his veins as he kissed his prince for the first and what sadly would be the only time.  Prince Stiles’ lips were so soft and inviting, it took everything in Derek not to ravage him right there.  Stiles was making little desperate whimpers that reached the hardest part of Derek’s body as they continued to kiss.  Derek wanted to savor this kiss, so he took his time exploring his prince’s mouth.

He swept their tongues together, in a sensual duel that was as old as time. Prince Stiles was trying to rub his hands up and down Derek’s body to get to the skin underneath, but Derek knew that if they went any further, he would not be able to stop.  He grabbed Stiles’ hands and placed them above his head without breaking their kiss.  Stiles continued to moan in between kisses and Derek, the selfish bastard that he was, wanted to hear that sound forever.  He gave one last hard kiss to Stiles’ mouth before he went to suck on his neck.  He knew not to leave a mark, but he couldn’t help tasting the sweet skin he found there and he relished in the sweet sounds coming from Stiles.  He licked and nibbled Stiles’ neck and ears for over five minutes until he heard something that made him stop in confusion to figure out what it was.  He looked up at Stiles and frowned.

His prince was making noise still, but the sounds coming out of his mouth were anything but sweet. Stiles was snoring, and not very delicately at all.  _He passed out! I can’t believe he fell asleep on me!_   Derek had never felt so offended in his life. _I could strangle you Stiles for making me this hard and then falling asleep on me like we weren’t just snogging each other’s faces off_.  Derek moved to get off the bed in a fit of fury, but he stopped when Stiles suddenly whispered something in his sleep.

“Derek don’t go! Please don’t ever leave me.”  Prince Stiles was still asleep, but his body was tensing and shaking like he was having a nightmare.  Derek sighed and looked up at the ceiling with a frown on his face. _I should leave him and let him fight it out in his nightmare as punishment for falling asleep, but…but I will never leave him when he is in pain._ Derek unbuttoned the top of his uniform jacket to slide out of and gently placed it on the ground.  He took off Stiles shirt and set it to the side as well.  He was making shushing noises to the prince as he gathered him close.  Derek laid back on his back on the bed.  He placed Stiles head on his chest and wrapped his arms around him.  Derek brought the blanket over them both and started running his hand up and down Stiles back.  _I will always protect you Stiles. Always!_

**▪▪▪**

_Ugh! My head…it hurts so much._   Stiles slowly opened his eyes as the sun shined brightly inside his room. _How much did I drink?_ The prince grabbed his head as he slowly pushed himself up in his bed.  He looked to his dresser and was grateful to see a cup of water resting there.  Stiles chugged the whole cup and tried to wake himself up, so that he could face the day.  _Never again will I drink this much. At least I can take comfort in the fact that Scott and Isaac are in the same boat as me._   Stiles chuckled, but then grabbed his stomach.  He quickly got out of bed, or at least as fast as he was able, and went to his chamber pot.  He threw up a little bit of last night’s meal and then he went to his water basin to wash his hands and mouth.  Stiles jumped and grabbed his head when his door was opened and hit the wall hard.

“Ah! Who dares slam open my door like that without knocking?”  Stiles bellowed as he tried to wish the pain in his head away.  He turned to see Scott and Isaac standing in the doorway glaring at him.  They both looked the same as how Stiles felt, like horse shit.  He didn’t know why they were glaring at him.  “What?  Why are you looking at me like that?”  The guys walked in the room to help Stiles get ready for the day.  Isaac carried a tray that had Stiles’ breakfast on it.  The tray had eggs, sausages, and fruit on it with a glass of milk.

“Apologies your Highness, we had no idea the door would open like that.” Scott muttered as he went to open the curtains.

“Yeah, your Highness,” Isaac hissed as he set Stiles tray down on his small table in the room, “we are sorry for any loud noises we make this morning. We know how difficult it is to recover after a night of drinking.”  Isaac mocked.

“I take it you both are angry with me after last night.” Stiles said drily.

“Of course we are!” They both said in unison.

“I was throwing up all night!” Isaac yelled.

“I passed out on the floor and didn’t even wake up when I threw up!” Scott shouted.

Stiles winced and grabbed his head wishing the loud voices would stop. “I’m sorry!  I just wanted to have one last good time before I must go and marry Princess Lydia.”  The two servants said nothing as they finished getting the room ready and then they left, slamming the door closed.  Stiles flinched as he muttered an apology to the empty room.  He looked down at his breakfast and went to go throw up again.

**▪▪▪**

“I feel so much better now.” Stiles said to himself after he took his bath.  He was rubbing his towel over his head when he noticed a small package wrapped in parchment on his dresser.  Stiles opened it up and saw that inside there was a small gold medallion with the letter “S” engraved on it with a small beautiful pattern drawn all around it.  There was no note, but Stiles knew it was probably another gift from his father.  The medallion was so beautiful and Stiles loved it instantly.  He put it on right away.  He finished getting ready and then he left his room.

Yesterday, his father told him he wanted to speak to him the next day about his upcoming journey to go meet Princess Lydia. This was a meeting he was dreading, but even he knew better than to keep his father waiting.  He was just grateful he wasn’t feeling queasy anymore.  It wouldn’t be good to throw up at the king’s feet.  Again.  Stiles shivered.  Nope.  Not good at all.

**▪▪▪**

“Sir Derek, thank you for your dedicated service to protecting my son.” King John said as he sat in his study.  Sir Frederick was standing next to him and Derek was kneeling in front of the king.  King John told him to rise.  Derek stood up and stared at the king.

“You don’t have to thank me your Majesty. It is my honor to protect the prince.”

“You don’t have to lie to me Derek. I know what a pain my son can be and all of the trouble he has gotten himself in that you have had to go save him from.  Even the trouble you don’t think I know about.”  The king winked at Derek as Derek was shocked to hear this.  “I am proud to have you as a part of my kingdom.”

“T-thank you King John. I live to serve you and your son.”

“I know Derek, believe me I know.” The king turned solemn.  “There is a reason I have called you here today.  The day after tomorrow you and five of your most trusted guards will accompany my son to Brentwood.  He must begin his courtship of Princess Lydia.”

Derek was shocked, but did not let it show on his face. “So soon my King?  I thought the Prince wouldn’t be making that journey for at least two more weeks.”

“I’m afraid some things have come up that have made us move up our plans.” Derek looked at his father for answers, but his father gave nothing away.  “There have been more attacks reported, by our patrols, of Peter and his men raiding small villages on the outskirts of both kingdoms.”  Derek narrowed his eyes at the mention of his traitorous uncle.  “We need to have Stiles and the Princess married as soon as possible.  I’m afraid we will be going to war earlier than I had planned and we need the two kingdoms united.”

Derek nodded in understanding. “I understand that my King.  I fear Prince Stiles will not take this news well.”

“I share the same fears as you, but he must fulfill his duties as the future King of this kingdom. All of the subjects of both kingdoms are depending upon him and the princess marrying.”

**▪▪▪**

Derek had just shut the door to the King’s study and walked down the hall when he ran into the prince. Literally.  “Apologies Stiles.  I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s ok Derek. You looked to be in deep thought.”  Stiles smiled at him.

Derek returned the smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He was wary of what the prince would say after what happened last night.  “H-how are you feeling?”

“Like I got run over by a carriage.” Stiles laughed.  “I assume you were the one to put me to bed last night.  I’m sorry for getting so smashed, but thank you for making sure I didn’t embarrass myself too much.  I remember you dragging me out of the ball before I passed out on the floor in front of everyone.”

_He doesn’t remember what happened between us last night_. Derek wasn’t sure if he was happy about that or not.  “You’re…welcome.  I didn’t want the King to come down on both of our heads.  Just make sure that doesn’t happen again.  There is only so much I can handle and a drunk prince is one task I would not like to repeat again.”  Stiles laughed and then nodded.  Derek looked down and saw that Stiles was wearing the medallion he had given him as a birthday present.  Derek left it on his dresser this morning when he snuck out of the prince’s bedchambers without waking him.  “I like your medallion.  It looks good on you.”

Prince Stiles cupped it in his hand and smiled. “Thank you.  It’s another birthday gift from my father.  I’m getting ready to go into a meeting now with him, so I can thank him.”

Derek kept his face stoic. “You be sure to do that.  I must go attend to my duties, so I will see you later Stiles.”  Derek walked past him and didn’t look back when Stiles said bye to him.  _It’s better this way. I can’t give him hope.  He is the future King and he must honor his duties._

**▪▪▪**

Stiles smiled at his father as he told him to come in. He waved at Sir Frederick and went to sit down in the chair next to his father.  “Thank you father for my party and all of the amazing gifts you gave me.”

“It was my pleasure Stiles. You are my son after all.”  King John smiled, but then he became serious.  “Stiles, there is something very important I need to talk to you about.”

“If it has to deal with my upcoming betrothal, then don’t bother. I won’t fight you on it anymore father.”

“That…that is good to hear Stiles because what I am about to tell you deals directly with our future alliance with the King of Brentwood.” Stiles motioned for his father to continue.  “You will be leaving the day after tomorrow to begin your courtship of Princess Lydia.”

“WHAT!” Stiles spat.  “I have two more weeks!”

King John shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry Stiles, but I’m afraid we have to move our plans up on light of recent events.  Peter is attacking more villages and soon we will be going to war.  Our two kingdoms need to be united when that happens.”

“War?” The king nodded.  “So when exactly do I have to be married?”  Stiles crossed his arms.

The king tried to put his hand on Stiles’ knee, but Stiles shook his hand off. “By the beginning of next month.  You understand the importance of this marriage don’t you?”  The prince got up and left the room.  He slammed the door hard as he exited.  A few paintings shook from the vibrations.  The king let out a sad sigh and looked at his best friend.  “That went rather well don’t you think?”  The king didn’t even flinch when the painting of him and his son fell to the ground.

**▪▪▪**

**TWO DAYS LATER**

Prince Stiles was radiating with fury as he sat atop his faithful stallion, Valiant. Scott and Isaac were riding along on both sides of him, but they were cautious about speaking to him.  For the past day and a half, the prince had barely spoken to anyone as they were all preparing for his departure.  Even Derek wasn’t able to get him to talk.  Derek sighed as he rode in front with Boyd and Parrish.  There were three other guards riding behind the prince and his servants as they started their three days’ ride to Brentwood.  One of the guards was controlling the cart that carried some of their supplies, luggage, and gifts for the King and Princess of Brentwood.  For the most part it was a silent, but tense start to their trip.

Everyone was cautious about what they said for fear that the prince would snap and go off on them. They had stopped only about three times to eat and rest their bodies and horses for a little while.  Despite the tense atmosphere, they had made good time on their first day.  Derek did not like being on the open rode after hearing all the reports about bandits and Peter’s army attacking travelers and villages, so he wanted to get to the kingdom as quickly as possible.  He was glad the king had listened to him about traveling as inconspicuous as possible.  It was best not to bring any unwanted attention to their traveling group.  The royal carriage the king wanted them to travel with would have definitely turned some heads.

Derek let out a sigh and patted Midnight’s neck as he looked up to the sky. It would be getting dark soon and they needed to make camp.  About an hour later, they had reached a clear area close to the lake, so that they could wash and set up camp.  “Let us stop here for the night and get a small fire going.  Once we have eaten dinner, we can take turns going to the lake to bathe.”  All the men, except Stiles, nodded.  They got off their horses and went to go set up their temporary camp.  They got the horses settled and found wood to make a fire.  They cooked dinner and all of the men rolled out their bedrolls, so that they could rest for the night.  They added a couple more pieces of wood to the fire before the group started to fall asleep.  It was a quiet night and that was all Derek could ask for.

It was completely dark by the time Derek was able to get away to go bathe. Luckily, it was a full moon tonight, so Derek didn’t need to bring a torch with him to the lake.  After he was clean, he was going to go back and take over his shift of watching for any signs of danger.  Derek couldn’t wait to get the smell of the day’s travel off of his body.  He tensed when he got to the lake and saw that somebody was already there bathing.  Derek groaned when he saw that it was Stiles.  He went to turn around, but the sound of Stiles talking stopped him.

“It’s a pretty big lake, so you don’t need to leave. If you stick to one side and I stick to the other, we don’t even have to look at each other as we bathe.”  Stiles raised one eyebrow.  “Unless you’re a shy maiden, that doesn’t want anyone to see her naked body.”  Stiles taunted.  Derek narrowed his eyes as he dropped his change of clothes and started to strip.  He grabbed the little bar of soap he had and walked into the water.  It was a little cold, but Derek’s body quickly got used to it.

He dunked his head under the water and started to clean himself. Stiles didn’t even turn around to look at him as he continued to bath.  Derek watched him out of the corner of his eye, but the prince paid him no mind.  Ten minutes had gone by when Derek finally couldn’t take the silence any longer.  For two days, the prince had barely said one word to him that wasn’t snarky or condescending.  “Stiles, I know you’re mad—.”

“Please don’t try and mollify me. The sound of your voice is irritating and I’d rather not hear what you have to say to try and placate me.”  Stiles didn’t turn around, which was good for Derek as he silently moved through the water to grab Stiles’ head and dunk him in the water.  He held Stiles down for a few seconds and then let him come up sputtering and thrashing in the water trying to take in deep breaths of air.  Then he dunked him one more time because he felt like it.  The second time Stiles came up he turned around to look at Derek with murder in his eyes.

“Have you had enough? You need to quit acting like a bast—.”  Derek was not expecting how fast Stiles moved to grab his shoulder and pull him underneath the water.  Derek was struggling to breathe as he and Stiles started wrestling in the water.  The military training Stiles had gone through made him an impressive fighter, but he was no match for Derek as he finally got the stubborn prince to yield.  Stiles glared at Derek and if looks could kill, Derek would be dead where he stood.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU JUST DID THAT!” Stiles shouted as he wiped the water out of his eyes.

“And I can’t believe how much of infuriating ass you have been these past two days Stiles.”

“Can you blame me?!!!!”

“Yes, yes I can!” Derek smacked the water.  “Believe me when I say the whole kingdom knows how much you don’t want to go through with this wedding, but that is no excuse for how you have been acting.”

“Fuck. You!”  Prince Stiles turned away from Derek and started walking towards shore.  Derek growled behind him and dove after him taking them both under the water once again.  He brought them both up out of the water but he had the prince locked in a bear hug he could not get out of.  “Let me go you big oaf.”  Stiles fought to get Derek’s arms off of him, but to no avail.

“Not until you calm down!” Derek held him tighter.  “Come on Sprout!  This is not you.”  The use of the childhood nickname Derek had given Stiles when they were younger finally got Stiles to calm down.  It took forever for Stiles to have his growth spurt, so Derek had started calling him sprout and it stuck.  It had been years since Derek had called him that.  Stiles even laughed when he heard it.  He sighed and gently patted the arms around his chest, asking Derek to release him, which he did.  They both walked out of the lake to grab their towels to dry off.  Once they were dry and dressed, they laid on the ground to look at the stars.  Stiles laid down with his head on Derek’s stomach.

Stiles sighed. “I’m sorry Bear.”  Stiles used the nickname he had given Derek when they were little after he saw Derek fight for the first time.  He said Derek had fought as ferocious as a bear.  The two both laughed as they remembered that memory.  “I’m just so…”

“Angry?”

“Yes! I can’t believe how unfair this all is.”  Stiles put his hands on his belly.

“I know Sprout, but your father explained to you why this marriage is so important.”

Stiles quietly nodded. “I know that our kingdoms must be united for this impending war we are preparing for, but this…”

“Sucks like a horse’s ass?” The men both laughed and then became quiet as they looked at all of the stars in the night sky.  Even though they didn’t know it, they were both thinking the same thing.  They wished they could have been born different men, free to be with each other without ruining the lives of everyone they care about.

“I will do right by my people Derek.” Stiles was glad it was dark enough that Derek couldn’t see the tears that he was fighting to keep at bay.  “I just don’t have to like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for taking so long to post this second chapter. I have the ending for this story already thought out, it's just getting to that ending is what I'm having trouble with. I pretty much have the next chapter thought out, so it will be up soon. I promise. Thank you for the kudos and comments and I hope you all enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

“My ass hurts.” Isaac whined.

“Mine does too, but you don’t hear me complaining about it.” Scott remarked.

“You two just aren’t used to sitting on your asses all day.” Stiles teased.

“We can’t all be the prince! Some of us have real work to do around the castle, which keeps our asses in tip top shape.”

“Enough with the ass talk!” Derek said as he trotted up beside the three men.  “Stiles you are the esteemed Prince of Beacon Hills and Scott and Isaac, you are his faithful servants.  This crass talk of bottoms should never be muttered from any of your mouths.”  Derek glared at all three of them.  “Besides, we just stopped to eat lunch, to give you guys a rest, so they can’t be hurting that much from riding.  Suck it up boys and get your asses into gear.”

“Yes sir, Sir Derek!” They all said in unison mockingly.

“Although I _wasn’t_ complaining.  My ass feels fine if you would like to take a look just to make sure.”  Stiles stated with a devilish smile.  Sir Derek just gave him a look like he wanted to strangle him.  Derek urged his horse forward, so that he could be at the front of the group again.  They were on their second day and except for a few impromptu stops, they were still making good time.  In about another hour they would be at the bridge that led to the entrance of Brentwood.  With each step they took getting closer to the adjoining kingdom, Derek’s stress lessened.  They luckily had not ran into any trouble or any suspicious looks directed their way and Sir Derek was hoping to keep up the lucky streak as they made their way into Brentwood.

He could still hear the three men behind him bickering, but he just focused on his years of training as a Royal Guard member and was easily able to block them out. About fifteen minutes later Derek heard a noise that sounded like a horse, but he didn’t see anything.  All of sudden a brown mare came trotting down the dirt road.  Normally, Derek would have assessed the situation to see if the rider was a threat, but this time he couldn’t do that.  This horse had no rider atop it, but it was wearing a saddle, so obviously the horse was not a wild one.  Derek raised his hand to halt the group and then he got down off of Midnight to try and go calm down the other horse.

“Whoa girl!” Derek held his hands up in a soothing motion to try and calm the horse down.  He slowly walked up to it while whispering soft words.  At first, the horse was weary, but it eventually calmed down and allowed Derek to grab its bridle.  “Where’s your master girl?  A pretty thing like you should not be out in the forest by yourself.”  Derek patted the horse’s nose and smiled at it.

“Derek where’s that horse’s rider?” Stiles said a little concern in his voice.

“I don’t know.” Derek looked around.  “Let’s continue on and maybe we’ll come across him.”  Derek brought the horse over to Midnight and tied the horse’s reins around his saddle.  Then he got back on Midnight and nudged him forward.  About half a mile down the road, they saw something large lying down in the middle of the road.  When they got closer, they realized it was a man lying face down.  Everyone slowed down and Derek, Boyd, and Parrish hop down to go check on the man.  They gently roll the man over on to his back.  He is covered in dirt, but other than that he doesn’t look so bad.  They don’t see any blood, so he probably got knocked out when he fell from his horse.

Dereck checked to make sure the man was alive and he was. He gently shakes the man to see if he will wake up.  The man lets out a groan as he becomes conscious again.  “W-what happened?”  The man asks as they slowly get him back on his feet.

“You fell from your horse.” Boyd tells him.  “Do you remember what happened to make your horse throw you?”

The man rubs the back of his head and winces. “I…I think we were attacked.”

“Attacked?” Derek asked as he looks around.  “Can you remember which way the bandits went?”

The man continued to rub his head as he squinted his eyes trying to think of the answer. A moment later he speaks.  “Yeah.”

“Where? Which way?”

“They…they’re right behind you.”

Derek frowns at that answer confused about what the man just said. He turns around to investigate and lets out a curse.  Coming out of the woods in different directions were over twelve men carrying swords and wearing evil smiles.  They looked like they were used to causing harm and they liked to do it.  Derek turned around to look at the man and he found a crossbow in his face.  It was a trap and the group realized at the same time that they had just walked right into an ambush.  The group quickly made their way to each other, trained to cover their backs in any sort of fight.  The rest of the men got off of their horses and were looking towards Derek wondering what they should do.  Derek wasn’t sure since they were outnumbered and he needed to make the right decision to protect the prince.

“You gents look like smart men, so I know you know what this is.” The man with the crossbow said.  “Drop your weapons and give us all of your money and no one has to get hurt.  We’ll be taking the horses as well.”  Somehow Derek really didn’t believe them that they were just going to leave them unharmed.  Derek knew the only option they had was to fight.  His fist grew tight as he held the handle of his sword and he grinded his teeth as he stared down the leader of the bandits.

“Funny how I don’t believe you louts will keep your word. I think we’ll keep all of our belongings and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll let us by.”  The bandits let out a loud collective laugh.  Sir Derek shrugged.  “Suit yourselves then.”  He looked at all of the men in his group with a knowing look that they all nodded back at him saying they understood what he planned to do.  Derek turned to smack Midnight’s ass and the men all followed suit sending their horses away from the danger as the men turned around to charge forward and attack the group of bandits.  Even the horse that was still tied to Midnight’s saddle took off.  The horse pulling the cart was difficult to get moving at first, but eventually it took off with the cart rattling behind it.

Sir Derek went right after the leader catching him off guard and knocking the crossbow out of the man’s hand before he had a chance to fire it. The man quickly acted and went to grab his sword to fight Derek back.  All of the men in Derek’s group had taken out their swords and began attacking the bandits that were closes to them.  Derek praised the king for his wise thinking that Stiles be trained how to fight like a guard and that his two best friends; regardless of the fact that they were just servants, received the same training or else this would have been a very different fight.  Boyd and Parrish had managed to take down the first two bandits they came across, but two others came at them a second later.  The leader fighting Derek was a worthy adversary as they were locked in a battle, Derek wasn’t sure he was going to win.  They had both gotten a few cuts here and there, but neither had dropped their swords.  They continued clashing their swords until Derek heard a sound that made his stomach drop.

Derek turned to see that three of the bandits had ganged up on Stiles and gotten him to drop his sword. One had there sword up against Stiles throat.  “You’re a pretty lad.”  The man said to Stiles.  Sir Derek looked around wearily and saw that Isaac and Scott had already been defeated as they stood with swords at their neck.  Derek swore as the leader of the group let out an evil chuckle.

“Either you all give up now or we will kill all of you.” It went against Derek’s whole being to surrender, but the prince’s life was on the line.  He was getting ready to throw down his sword when out of nowhere an arrow flew through the air and landed in one of the bandits’ chests making him fall to the ground instantly dead.  Everyone froze and looked around trying to find where the arrow came from.  Two more arrows shot out and took two more bandits down.  “Who’s there?  Show yourself!”  The leader shouted.  Everyone turned when they heard a noise coming from the trees.  No one knew what to make of who walked out from the trees.

A tall, pretty, dirty blonde woman whose hair was more a light brown walked out of the trees. Derek looked at her with confusion because instead of wearing a dress like most women wore, she was in pants!  Derek had never seen a woman wear pants before.  She even had a sword attached to her hip.  She waved and smiled at all of the men.  “You thieves have two options as I see it.  All of you either give up right now and we take you to the next sheriff we come across or you can be killed right where you stand.”  The leader started to slowly laugh and it grew louder as the rest of his men joined in.

“Oh really? You and what army missy?”

The woman’s smile got even bigger. “I was hoping you would take the second option.”  Five men stepped out of the trees to stand next to her.  One was holding the bow and arrow that must have killed the thieves.  “Leave no prisoners men!”  The men standing next to her ran forward to attack the rest of the remaining thieves.  Derek didn’t hesitate as he went back to fighting the leader.  The thieves that had Stiles, Scott, and Isaac at sword point walked away from them to fight their new opponents.  This allowed the three men to pick their swords back up and get back into the fight.  Derek was amazed to see the woman fight.  She had skill and easily took down every bandit that came at her.  In a matter of moments all of the bandits that had tried to attack them were slain.  Derek smiled with glee as he struck his sword through the leader’s stomach killing him.  He pulled it out and took out a cloth to wipe the blood off of it.  He then put it back in his sword hilt.

Sir Derek rushed over to see if Stiles was ok. Stiles brushed his hand off saying he was fine.  Derek nodded and turned to face the group that had come to his rescue.  “My most sincere thanks are in order my lady.  If it were not for you and your band of men, we would have surely been defeated.”

“I will accept your thanks as long as you don’t ever call me a ‘lady’ again. The name is Kate.”  Kate stuck out her hand to shake and gave Derek a flirty smile.

Derek shook her hand. “That I can do.  I am Derek.”  Kate and Derek both introduced the rest of the men in their groups.  Derek used a fake name for Stiles, thinking since they didn’t know these people at all, it would be best not to reveal who they really were.

“It’s nice to meet all of you, but I must ask what in bloody hell are you doing out on this road? Haven’t you heard of the recent robberies happening on Hollow trail?”

“No.” Derek frowned at hearing that news.  The last time he checked, he was assured by numerous sources that Hollow Trail was still safe to travel.  “We were not aware of that, but to answer you’re first question.  We are on our way to Brentwood.”

“Brentwood? What are you doing on this road then?”

“Well, this is the fastest way to get there and we are on urgent business from the King of Beacon Hills to get there as soon as possible. We are all a part of the king’s guard and he sent us to talk with King Alan.”  Kate gave a skeptic look to the men standing behind him.  Only a fool would think that Stiles and his friends could protect anybody.  They just weren’t built like guards.  “The king’s servants accompany us because they carry the message we must give to King Deaton.”

Kate must have accepted that answer because she continued speaking. “You must have not heard then.  The bridge that leads over to the other kingdom is down for repairs.  About another mile down the road you’ll see a sign that will mention it.”

“Damn! That means we will have to go the long way.  That will add another two days to our journey.”

“Oh that’s such a tragedy!” Stiles said sarcastically under his breath.  Scott and Isaac snickered having heard what Stiles said.

Kate snorted. “I’m afraid it might take even longer than that.  It will take at least a day to procure more horses for you and your comrades.  You don’t even have supplies, so hopefully you have enough money on your person to get everything you need again.”

“Oh that’s not a problem.” Derek let out a loud whistle.  A minute later, everyone heard the sound of hooves approaching.  All of the horses had come back.  The king made sure that all of his guard’s horses were trained to not stray too far from their riders.  If not commanded to come back, they would eventually come back on their own.  Derek turned to his men.  “Since we hit a delay, we best get on our way, to try and make up as much time as possible.”  Derek looked back at Kate.  “Thank you one again my la—Kate I mean.  I wish safe passage to your and your men.  We must be on our way now.”  Derek signals Midnight over to him, and is getting ready to hop up on him when Kate stops him.

“Wait Derek. My men and I are heading in the same direction, so how about we travel together?  We are on our way to the village of River’s Edge.”  Derek had to think about that for a moment.  Although these people had come to their aid, he really didn’t know them.  “It would be safer anyway if we all traveled together.  A bigger group would scare off any bandits that would try and rob us.”

Based off of that argument, Derek had to agree. It would be safer if they travel together.  “You are right!  River’s Edge is right on the way and it would be a perfect spot to stop for the night.”  Derek got on Midnight and waited for Kate and her men to retrieve their horses.

**▪▪▪**

_She’s not that pretty._ Stiles thought. _If you ask me, she looks more like a man with those ruff hands of her._ As usual, Prince Stiles was riding in between the middle of the group with Scott and Isaac.  His two friends were talking with each other, but Stiles wasn’t paying any attention to them.  He was too busy staring at Derek and how he seemed to be captivated by every word that came out of that woman’s mouth.  Derek had not looked back once to see if Stiles was ok.  He was too busy talking and laughing with Kate, something they had been doing nonstop since they started traveling together. _What could she possible be saying that would have Derek so enthralled?_

“Maybe she’s telling him about where she learned to fight.” Scott chimed in beside him on his left.

“What?” Stiles asked.  He then frowned when he realized he must have said that last thought out loud.

“Or maybe she’s telling him about how she used to be a pleasure slave and how she had to escape from her master.” Isaac teased.

“Shut up!” Stiles barked as he glared at his two laughing friends.  “I was just wondering because I have never seen Derek show so much interest in a woman before.”

“I have.” Isaac smiled behind his hand.

“Don’t say it!” The prince warned.

“He focuses all his attentions on a woman when he’s trying to bed her!” Stiles reached out and punched Scott in the arm.  “Ow!  You told Isaac not to say it.  You didn’t say anything about me!”

“I hate you both.” Stiles closed out their laughter and continued to fume as he watched Derek and Kate talking.  He started grinded his teeth every time Kate flicked her long hair and batted her eyelashes at Derek.  He didn’t say anything to anyone until they reached River’s Edge and found a inn to stay at for the night.  They had quickly sold the bandits’ horse to get some extra money, so that repairs could be made to the cart, which took some damage when they made the horses flee earlier.  The carpenter said the cart would be ready by morning.

Stiles wanted to eat and just go to bed, but like with trying to win Derek’s love, he just couldn’t get his way. Tonight was the last night of the summer festival and the whole village was celebrating, so the chances of getting any sleep tonight before midnight would be slim to none. _Fuck my life!_  Scott and Isaac dragged Stiles to a table, so they could sit down and eat their evening meal before the night’s festivities began.

Stiles sat and sulked at the table as one of the serving girls brought out food. A minute later Derek, Boyd, and Parrish walked over and sat down.  “Where’s your new best friend?”  Stiles muttered with menace in his voice.

“What did you say?” Derek asked.

“Nothing.” The men sat down to their food and ate.  Stiles relaxed when he didn’t see Kate or her crew for the whole dinner.  He even started joking with Scott and Isaac.  Once they finished their meal, they left the tavern to go outside and join in the party happening outside.  There was a huge fire going and a band was playing music.  People were dancing and drinking.  The three guys grabbed up mugs of ale and stood to the side watching the crowd.  Derek, Boyd, and Parrish were on the other side drinking and talking while watching the crowd.  Stiles was laughing until he saw Kate walking up towards the three royal guards.

“Hi Derek.” Kate said as she walked up.  “Do you want to dance?”

Boyd and Parrish laughed at that. “Derek doesn’t dance.”  Parrish said.

Derek frowned at his friends laughing at him. “Ignore them.  They’re lightweights.”

Kate smiled. “I’ll take that into advisement, so…how about that dance?”

Derek thought about it. _What the hell?_ He finished off his drink and took Kate’s hand and led her out to where other people were dancing.  He grabbed Kate and brought her close to his body and they started dancing.  Derek never even noticed the shout of outrage that rung out behind him.

**▪▪▪**

“Stiles, shouldn’t you slow down? That’s like your fifth cup.”  Scott tried to take the cup out of his hand, but Stiles fought him back.

“Lay off Scott. I’m twenty and five.  I know when I’ve had enough.”  Stiles finished off the cup, burped, and threw the cup to the floor.  He growled as he looked over to see Derek and Kate talking in a secluded spot, not a care in the world.  “Just look at them.”  Stiles drunkenly slurred.  “That woman is such a shameless tart!  I can’t believe Derek is buying this crap.”  Stiles was so mad, he wanted to punch something or _someone_ , but his father raised him to be a gentleman, so he couldn’t go over and do what he desperately wanted to do to Kate.  Stiles started towards them, but as soon as he took one step, he fell flat on his face.

“Okay, you’re drunk. Let’s put you to bed before you throw up all over the place.”  Isaac went to grab one arm, and Scott took the other.

“No!” Stiles shouted.  “Let me go guys.”

**▪▪▪**

“So Derek…do you have a special lady in waiting for you back in Beacon Hills?” Kate and Derek were sitting on a tree trunk sipping on their cups of ale.  She put her hand on Derek’s arm and rubbed up and down on it slowly.

“No, no one is waiting for me back home.” Derek took a sip of his cup.

“Well, that’s good news.”

“Oh it is?” Derek raised his eyebrow.  “Why is that?”

Kate smiled up at him threw her eyelashes. “I just mean it’s good to know I don’t have any competition when it comes to vying for your affections.”  Kate moved over so she could be closer to Derek.

_That’s what you think!_ “Um Kate, look you are a beautiful woman, but—.”  Derek was cut off as Kate moved closer and brought their mouths together.  Derek was frozen in shock at how bold she was being.  It took him a moment to get his senses back and once he did, he was getting ready to gently push her off of him, when Kate pulled her head away all on her own.  The sound of someone shouting “no” got both of their attentions.  They both turned to see who was yelling.  Derek clenched his fists when he saw that it was Stiles.  “He must be drunk.  I got to go take care of this Kate sorry.  Goodnight.”  Derek took off before Kate could say anything.  He walked up behind the guys and scared Scott and Isaac when he spoke.  “What happened?”

“Um, hey Derek.” Scott said.  “We’re all just tired and thought it be best to head up to bed.  We’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”  Scott and Isaac tried to move forward again while still holding Stiles, but the drunken prince had to struggle once he heard Derek’s voice.

“Derek!” Stiles cheered.  “I must speak with you on a matter most urgent.”  Stiles slurred as he looked at Derek over his shoulder.  He was oblivious to the fact that Scott and Isaac were still holding him up.  “It’s about that _woman_ you’ve taken a liking too.”

Derek gave Scott and Isaac a look that said he would talk to them later and that they were not going to like what he had to say. He stepped forward and grabbed Stiles out of their hands.  He flipped Stiles over his shoulder like he did on the night of his birthday ball and started walking to the inn.  “Whatever you need to say Stiles it can wait until we’re inside.  You need rest and from the smell of you a bath, but that can wait until morning.”

“No!” Stiles slammed his fists on Derek’s back.  “Put me down this instant!  I’m mad at you.”  Stiles started wiggling, which just made Derek get a firmer grasp on him.

Derek made it to the inn’s side entrance that lead up to the rooms. He couldn’t remember which floor the innkeeper had put Stiles and his friends on.  “Stiles.  Stiles wake up!”  Derek shook the prince’s body to wake him up because he had passed out on their way to the inn.

“Huh?” Prince Stiles rubbed his eyes.  “I’m sleeping Derek leave me alone.”  The prince yawned and tried to go back to sleep, but Derek wouldn’t let him.

“Wake up you drunkard and tell me which floor is your room on.”

“My room?” Stiles had asked that like he never heard of the concept before.

“Yes your room. You know where you and your friends are sleeping tonight.”  Stiles was silent.  “In the village of River’s Edge.”

“Oh! Why didn’t you just say so silly?”  Derek had to resist the urge to drop the prince and leave him where he fell.  “I’m on the third floor in room four.”  Even though Stiles’ words were blending together, just then, he sounded like he had solved the world’s greatest puzzle.  Derek shook his head and went to the stairs to start walking up them.  When he reached room four, he set Stiles down so that he could get the key off of his wrist.  Stiles had passed out again as was snoring a little bit.  Derek opened the door and partially dragged Stiles inside.  He helped to lay him down on the bed that had his supplies on it.

_Forget helping him take off his shoes. He’s so drunk he won’t even notice_.  Derek fingered the medallion that Stiles had taken to wearing every day and he smiled.  Even though the prince thought his father gave him this, it still made Sir Derek feel good that Stiles liked it so much.  Derek brought the blanket up over Stiles and turned to leave.  He had just opened the door when he heard the prince speak.

“Why her?” Stiles whimpered.  “Why do you like her and not me?”

Derek gripped the handle tight, but didn’t turn back around. He took some deep breaths and sighed.  He waited until he heard snoring again before he spoke.  “Believe me my love.  I will never like anybody as much as I like you.”  Derek opened the door and left.  He thought about going back to the party, but he wasn’t up to it, so he went to the stables instead to check on Midnight.

**▪▪▪**

“I’m never drinking again.” Stiles howled as he rested his head on his arms on top of the table they were eating their breakfast at.  He hadn’t even touched the porridge with oats that was sitting in front of him.

“That’s what we all say when we wake up the next morning after a night of drinking too much liquor.” Isaac said between bites of his food.  “The next night you’ll be back to drinking again trust me.”

“I’m serious this time!” The prince exclaimed.

“Sure you are.” Scott mocked.  “Eat your food before it gets cold.  We have a long ride ahead of us today.”

“Ugh! I can’t even think about food when I feel like this.”

“Well, you better eat something because we’re not going to make unnecessary stops just because you’re hungry.” Sir Derek said to him as he walked up to their table to sit down across from Stiles.  Stiles didn’t move to touch his food.  “If you want me to force feed it to you, all you have to do is ask.”  Stiles gave Derek a very un-princely like gesture and Derek laughed as his food was set down before him.

Thirty minutes later the men were full and had packed up their stuff, so they could continue on their journey. Prince Stiles still felt sick, but he knew he had to suck it up and ride.  Stiles had just gotten on to Valiant when he heard footsteps approaching.  It was Kate and her unit.  Kate gave Derek a smile that Stiles was not happy about at all.  He didn’t even notice that Derek felt a little uneasy by the smile as well.

“What is she doing here?” Stiles hissed.

“Kate and her men have all decided to accompany us a little farther on our mission. She says she knows of shortcut that could save us some time.”  Derek announced to all of the men.

“It’s only about an hour’s ride from here to get to it and that is where my men and I will depart from all of your company.”

“I’d rather take the longer way than have to be in her presence for a moment longer.” Stiles muttered under his breath.

“Be nice!” Scott whispered to him as he smiled at Kate when she looked at him.  Everyone started moving and like the day before, Kate and Derek found themselves at the front of the group leaving Stiles to trail behind them sulking with Scott and Isaac.  Stiles let out a small growl.  “If it bothers you so much, don’t look at them.  Like it or not, Derek is into women.”  Stiles didn’t say anything because he knew Scott was right, but he didn’t have to like it.

**▪▪▪**

“I’m saddened by the fact that our time was cut short last night Derek.” Kate said in a soft voice.

_I’m not_.  “Yes, it was a tragedy that Felix had been taken by the cups like that.”  Derek remarked.  Felix was the fake name he gave to Kate and her group yesterday to protect Stiles’ identity.  _I have got to find some way to talk to her about last night that won’t hurt her feelings. That kiss did nothing for me, but I know saying that would be cruel._

“It is sad we have to part company so soon after meeting each other.” Sir Derek wasn’t sure if it was just him, but he thought he saw Kate bringing her horse closer to him.  “Perhaps once your mission for the king is done, we can cross paths again.”

“Yes perhaps we may.” Derek took a deep breath.  “Listen Kate—.”

“We’re here. If we go off the marked path a little bit, we’ll come to a field.  If you walk straight across it, you’ll end up on Brentwood grounds.”  The men urged their horses to go through the woods.  The sight of the woods made Derek a little hesitant, but Kate assured him that it would be brighter on the other side.  They had been riding for five minutes and Derek was getting ready to tell Kate that they should probably turn back.

_Maybe we came in at the wrong point._ Derek was about to open his mouth, when he finally saw light ahead.  They kept moving and came out of the woods to a field just like Kate had said.  The only problem was that the field wasn’t empty.  All over the place that was a bunch of tents standing up.  It looked like a small army was camped there.  Derek didn’t like what he saw one bit and his gut told them they should get out of there.  Immediately!  He made Midnight back up knowing that his companions would do the same.  He turned Midnight around and froze.  Behind the group there stood twenty armed men watching them.  Some had swords out while others clutched bows with arrows pointing directly at them.

“I don’t think you’re going anywhere Derek.” Kate said.  All the sweetness from her voice had vanished.

“Kate, what is the meaning of this?”

“Did you really believe I didn’t know what the crowned Prince of Beacon Hills looked like? I know you are the assigned Head of his Royal Guard and you would never leave his side to go on a mission for your king.”  Kate motioned for them all to get off of their horses.  “There’s a pretty hefty reward for your whereabouts Prince Stiles and I aim to collect.  Besides, Lord Peter would kill for the chance to have the Prince in his hands.  Being able to see his nephew as well is just a bonus.”  Kate narrowed her eyes.  “Now enough with the talking.  Tie their hands together and take their weapons from them.  We have a family reunion to make happen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and comments. I have some good news! I sat down and wrote the whole plot for this story. Now I just have the hard, but fun task of having to type it all out. In the next chapter, things get steamy! Next chapter will be up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

“Keep moving!” Kate ordered the group of captured men to do.  Their wrists had been tied together and they were forced to march all the way down the hill into the camp.  The prisoners had to watch their horses being stripped of their saddles and belongings and being herded off to some unknown spot.  The only thing the Royal Guard members could do now was box Prince Stiles and his servants in as they were herded down the paths of setup tents.

The whole time Derek was berating himself for the mess they had gotten into. He was about ready to explode because he blamed himself for all of this.  He should have been smarter and not so trustworthy.  Maybe then, they would have not been so easily tricked.  Sir Derek knew that if he were to make any move now, it could be detrimental to the prince’s wellbeing.  He now had to bide his time and plan his next move carefully.  He couldn’t rely on his combat training, so all he had left was his strategic planning training.  Unfortunately for him, all the training in the world couldn’t help him right now get out of the unpleasant situation he was currently in.  He had to prepare himself to come face to face with a man he once loved, but now had come to despise.

Derek wanted to put his head down in shame for being captured as Kate and her men dragged them through Peter’s camp, but he couldn’t afford to show weakness to anybody right now. Kate and her men kept pushing them to go faster as they made their way down the narrow pathways to the largest red tent in the center of the camp.  Derek dreaded every step he and his companions took.  The captured men stared into the eyes of all the men that had joined Peter’s army and now were enemies to the kingdom as they gathered together to watch the new prisoners being steered through the camp.  If being watched wasn’t bad enough, the prisoners also had to suffer and listen to the enemy’s frenzied whispers and cat callings.

“Who are these bloody men?”

“Oh great! More mouths to feed.”

“They must be pretty important if Kate is bringing them in. She _never_ takes in prisoners.”

“Is it so hard to capture any women? I’m tired of having to look at you ugly blokes every day.”

“A hole is a hole man. They all feel the same in the dark.”

“I claim the pretty one that could pass for a female in the right light. It’s been ages since I had a warm body to rut into.”  The captured men remained quiet through all of the teasing and whistling the fighters were doing.  A few steps later and they found themselves in front of the large tent.  Kate walked in front of the prisoners and went inside to talk to the owner of the tent.  They had no qualms about who that person probably was.  After a brief moment, they heard Kate yell to her men to bring the prisoners inside.  Her men shoved them all forward, hard, so that they all fell to their knees.  They heard an amused chuckle and someone clapping their hands.  The kneeling men looked up to see a tall man stepping out of the shadows.  Light shined upon his face and they did their best to hold their ground as they came face to face with the traitor himself, former guard to King John, the ex-Sir Peter Hale.  He was smiling like he had just received the best gift in the world.

“Well, this is a nice surprise if I do say so myself.” A male voice coming from the corner said.  The captured men all turned their heads and saw none other Peter Hale, former member of the Beacon Hills’ Royal Guard walk to stand in front of them.  Stiles frowned and Derek gritted his teeth.  He was so riled up, anything Peter did could set him off and he would be making a move to end Peter’s sorry existence.  “I didn’t believe you Kate, but you do not jest.  You’ve done well, very well.”  Peter walked up closer and stood in front of Stiles and Derek.  “You’ve brought me the prince and my beloved nephew.  I knew I chose well making you my second in command.”  All of the kneeling men were stunned by Peter’s statement.  Peter just smiled.  “Yes, I chose a woman for that position, but as you can all clearly see, she is more than capable of doing the job.”

“She’s the _Argent_ that our scouts have been telling us about?”  Parrish asked, but no one paid him any mind.

“Thank you Peter. You know I would do anything to help the resistance.”  Kate gave Peter a tart bow of her head.

“Did everything go according to plan?”

“Absolutely. They never even suspected we were associated with you.  Your nephew acted just like you said he would.”  Kate said with pride.

“Oh I knew it would. My nephew’s one greatest flaw is his sense of duty.”

“How unfortunate for him. We could have had fun last night, had he taken me up on my offer.”

Peter raised his eyebrow at that comment. “Please, tell me you didn’t try to bed my nephew?”

Kate shrugged. “You never said he was so handsome.  I wanted to capture them right when I first saw him and make him my pleasure slave.”  Kate stepped forward to try and touch Derek, but he tilted his body away and Stiles let out a small growl between his teeth. _If she tries to touch him, I will personally kill her._

“I am pleased you were able to refrain yourself from doing so. After all, he is my nephew and he should remain untouched.”  Peter moved to place his hand on Derek’s shoulder, and Derek raised his tied wrists to smack his hand away.  Peter’s guards drew their swords, but Peter told them to relax.  “It’s ok men.  Derek is just a little mad at his uncle right now, but he’ll get over it once he sees all that I have done is for the best.”

“All you have done!” Derek said incredulous.  “When is it _ever for the best_ to murder innocent people?”  Derek yells.

“Derek do not take that tone with me. Sacrifices must be made when you are at war and some must die, so that others may flourish.  I’m building an unbeatable army here and I need to show those two kings that nothing will get in my way of getting what I want.”

“Being in your company disgusts me. You are nothing but a traitor and a lunatic!  You are no uncle of mine any longer.”  Derek roared.

Peter back handed Derek so fast, it made all the other captured men jump. Derek spat out some blood and checked to see if he had any loose teeth before he turned to continue glaring at Peter.  Peter leaned forward slightly to grab Derek’s chin in a tight grip.  “You have it wrong nephew.  I am a visionary.  You will see once you join me.”

“You have gone mad if you think I will ever join you. My duty is to protect the prince and the kingdom and you will never get me to turn my back on either one of my charges.”

“I think once you’ve had some time to think about what I’m offering you, you’ll change your mind. I’m creating an empire Derek, the likes of which no man has ever seen.  After I finish conquering the two kingdoms, I will join them together to create the most powerful kingdom in all the lands.  My enemies will either bow down at my feet and surrender, or they will be crushed.”  Peter squeezed his right hand into a fist.  “Beacon Hills and Brentwood has the potential to be so much more nephew.  Those two fools sitting on the thrones and being called Kings by the people will soon know what a real King looks likes.”  Peter winked at Stiles.

“You will have to kill me first before I ever let you defeat my father and take over the kingdom.” Stiles said angrily.  He was moving to stand up, but one of the guards grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him down.

Peter moved to stand in front of Stiles. He softly patted him on the cheek.  “Don’t worry Prince Stiles, you will be dead in due time, but for now, let my men escort you and your friends to your new accommodations for the duration of your stay in my humble abode.”  Peter motioned for them to be taken away.  Derek hears Peter talking to him, but he doesn’t look back as he is escorted out of the tent.  “Think about what I said nephew.  Don’t throw away this glorious chance to be something more in this life than just a bodyguard.  There is more to life than duty and honor.”

The captives are escorted away about 100 feet from Peter’s tent to a smaller one where they were shoved inside of it. Inside the small tent sat three steel cages of different sizes.  The whole tent smelled like an old musty barn.  Stiles’ eyes watered as he was violently shoved into one of the cages.  Derek, Isaac, and Scott were shoved in there with him while Boyd and Parrish were put in another one.  In the last cell, the three other members of the Royal Guard were locked in.

“Well, isn’t this just grand?” Scott exclaimed in a fake voice.  I’ve always wanted to become the prisoner of a madman.

“We don’t have time for this.” Derek sat on the bench located inside the cell and placed his head back.  “We need to create some type of plan, so that we can get out of here.”

“What type of plan? This camp alone has over 500 men here.”  Isaac exclaimed.

“I think I saw the horses being taken somewhere to the west.” Boyd stated.  “And not all of these men looked like they’re trained for war.”

“If we can get out of here, any information we can gather will be helpful to the King.” Parrish said.

“There is no question about it; we are going to get out here.” Derek remarked.  “Be sharp and take note of anything you observe here that could be helpful.”

**▪▪▪**

A few hours later when the sun was getting ready to set, the men still had no plan in place and they all sat frustrated in their cages. They all became alert when they heard movement around the front of the tent and then it opened.  Two guards had brought in bowls filled with some type of disgusting looking porridge.  The guards started passing the bowls out to the prisoners through the little slots in the front of the cages big enough for food to be passed through.  Another guard came in and went to the cell holding Derek, Stiles, Scott and Isaac.  He pointed at Derek and Stiles and motioned for them to come with him as he opened the cell.

“What’s going on? Where are you taking us?”  Derek demanded.

The guard grunted and spat on the ground in front of them. “Peter told me to come get you two, so I came to get you two.  Now move it!”  Derek and Stiles were shoved forward out of the tent and forced to start walking in the same direction they had walked away from earlier.  It looked like they were going back to Peter’s tent.  They both groaned as the guards in front of the tent opened the flaps for them to walk through.  They immediately saw Peter sitting down at a table with an assortment of untouched dishes sitting on top of them.  Unfortunately, Kate was sitting down at the table as well.  She smiled when she saw Derek and it made Stiles want to vomit.

“My thanks Donnelly for bringing my honored guests to my tent. You are dismissed.”  Peter said to his guard, who immediately left after bowing his head.  Stiles and Derek stood and looked at Peter with confusion.

“What are we doing here Peter?” Derek asked gruffly.

“I want you two to have dinner with me and my second in command.” Peter motioned to the chairs set up for his guests.  “Please sit.”  Kate told Derek to sit next to her.  Derek and Stiles didn’t want to sit down, but one look at the four armed guards standing closest to them changed their minds and they sat down.  Peter snapped his fingers and the servant who had just poured Derek and Stiles a cup of wine moved around the table taking the tops off of the dishes.  There was chicken, one dish had vegetables, and other foods set out on the table.  Peter and Kate immediately started reaching for food, but Derek and Stiles hesitated.  Peter looked over and saw that the two men hadn’t touched any of the food.  He rolled his eyes.  “I can assure you two that none of the food is poisoned.  Derek, your my nephew give me a little credit please and I need you alive for the time being Prince Stiles.”

“Sentences like that don’t leave room for me to actually have confidence in you.” Stiles stated.

“Well, believe me when I tell you this: you’re more valuable to me alive right now than dead. I sent a messenger off a few hours ago to inform your father that I have you.  In case he requires proof, you’ll remain alive for the time being.”

“What do you hope to gain by keeping me here?”

“I’m hoping your father will surrender his throne to me in exchange for your safe return.”

Stiles laughed at that. “Regardless if you have me or not, my father will never just surrender his throne.”

“Well see little prince. We’ll see.”

**▪▪▪**

“Derek, Prince Stiles, you’re back!” Parrish exclaimed when Derek and Stiles were locked back in the cell.

“What did Peter want with you?” Isaac asked.

“He just wanted the pleasure of Stiles’ and my company for dinner with him and Kate. It was unpleasant to say the least.”

“Peter told us that he has sent word to my father about my capture. He is asking that my father surrender the throne in exchange for my safe return.”

“That’s crazy! The king would never do anything like that!”  Scott proclaimed.

“I told Peter that, but he just said we’ll see.”

“On top of that I didn’t observe anything that could be helpful to us in our plan of escape besides all of the wine I saw being absorbed by some of the soldiers we saw on the way back here.” Derek said.  “They’re all going to be walking around drunk off their asses while we’re sitting here, rotting away in these cells.”  Derek ran his hand down his face in frustration and then he crossed his arms.

“Not necessarily.” Stiles said nonchalantly while rocking back and forth on his heels with his arms crossed behind his back.

“Why would you say that?” Everyone turned to look at their prince and the smug look he had on his face.

“Because I was able to snag this from Peter’s tent.” Stiles brought his left hand up and showed everyone the small metal pin he was holding.  All of the men stopped and stared hard at Stiles hand to make sure they were really seeing what they thought they were.  Once they determined they really saw a small pin in his hand they looked up at him like they wanted to punch Stiles.

“What are you going to do with that? Stab the guard to death when they get close enough to the cage.”  Derek frowned at Stiles and muttered something under his breath about stupid princes.

Stiles ignored the dirty looks being sent his way and smiled even bigger. “I was thinking more along the lines of using this to open the cage doors.”

“Oh really? If you’re telling me you can magically transform that pin into a key, slap a dress on me right now and call me a maiden.”  Derek said mockingly.

“Derek you remember that one summer about three years ago when you and your unit went off to train with the soldiers in Collingwood.”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything.”

“While you were gone, I picked up a few things from the Locksmith’s son.”

“Things like what?” Derek was starting to get angry.  He knew all about the Locksmith’s son, Gerald, and some of the other men Stiles had “spent time with”.

“Most of our time together was spent learning about how long we could kiss for without having to breathe.” Stiles gave Derek one of the sweetest smiles he had ever seen, and it made him sick.  “But there were also times when he taught me all of the things he knew about locks, especially how to unlock them when you don’t have a key.”

“What—you’re not saying what I think you’re saying are you?”

Instead of Stiles answering him, he walked over to the front of the cell and twisted his hand around so he could stick the pin into the key hole. After a few minutes of wiggling the pin around, the tent fell silent as they heard a distinct little click and then Stiles pulled the door open.  The men didn’t know what to say as they stared at their prince in astonishment.  “What are you all staring at?  Let’s go!”  Stiles went out the cell door and went to open the other one.  Once everyone was free, they huddled together to form a plan.

Once they had agreed upon everything, the men went to work. Two of the Royal Guards took care of the two guards standing outside their tent.  They dragged the unconscious bodies inside the tent and stripped them of their clothes and weapons, so that they could wear their clothes as a disguise.  They threw the unconscious guards in the cell and shut the door.  They should at least be out for twenty minutes and that would be plenty of time for them hopefully to find some weapons and get to their horses, so that they could make an escape.

Derek peeked out of the tent first and looked both ways before signaling that the coast was clear. They all left and then stuck to the shadows as they maneuvered between all of the tents heading towards where they thought the horses were.  The two dressed up guards walked up in front.  They passed by one tent that was a little bit larger than some of the others.  They were going to keep moving past it when they saw what looked to be about four guards walking around it.  Seeing guards surrounding a tent that didn’t look big enough for someone to live it caught their interest.  They were able to swiftly and quietly take down the guards and then they went inside the tent to investigate what was inside.

This must have been their lucky night because they had stumbled upon the weapons tent. Everyone quickly grabbed up swords and small knives.  They were trying to be quick because every minute was crucial if they were really going to escape.  Once they got as much as they could, they left out of the tent and kept moving forward in the dark.  The men were going as fast as they could between the tents praying that they would soon find their horses when their luck ran out. Two guys that looked like they were going to pass out at any moment stumbled out from behind a tent that they passed by a minute ago.  One of the guys burped really loudly making the group of men turn around at the sound of it.  “Hey Taryn!”  One of the drunken men slurred.  “Aren’t those the prisoners from earlier?” 

“I think you’re right. Hey you two!  Where are you taking these prisoners to?”  The two disguised guards moved forward to try and take care of the drunken men, but it was too late because the soldiers recognized them.  “Wait.  You two are…EVERYBODY WAKE UP!  THE PRISONERS ARE ESCAPING!”  Things went from bad to worse in less than a minute.  Men starting coming out in every direction with their swords drawn.  The escapees maneuvered into a circle, so that they could know who was at their back as they started fighting back the enemy.

“We need to get Stiles out of here.” Derek yelled to Boyd as he stabbed at someone making them fall to the floor.

“I don’t see how Derek. We’re surrounded.”  Boyd said as he tried to keep back one of the soldiers from breaking their circle.  “We’re surrounded and with no—.”  Boyd was cut off by the sound of horses neighing.  It sounded like it was coming from some place only a few yards away.

“We have to get closer to the horses. Everybody listen up!”  Derek yelled.  “We need to move forward.”  All the men worked to push past their opponents, so they could start moving farther.  They were moving slowly, but they finally made it to an area where they all could clearly hear the horses.  Derek let out a special whistle that he had used with Midnight for years to call him to him.

Midnight’s ears perked up when he heard the whistle. He pawed the ground and tried to move around in the small fenced in area he was caged in with the other horses.  Derek let out the whistle again and Midnight let out a loud whinny before he charged forward and broke down the fence.  He took off running to where he heard Derek whistling from.  When Midnight broke down the fence, all of the horses ran out too causing a stampede.  Derek looked up from who he was fighting with when he heard the sound of hooves on the ground.

Derek quickly took down his opponent and then grabbed Stiles’ arm and started dragging him over to where Midnight was running up towards them. Everyone else had gathered behind them to cover them and held off the enemy soldiers from reaching Derek and Stiles.  Some soldiers had stopped fighting to run after the horses that had been left free when Midnight broke the little manmade fence when Derek had signaled for him.  Derek let out a sigh of relief when he was able to pat Midnight’s side.  They just might be able to escape if they could just get on Midnight and ride out of here.  Derek quickly hopped up on Midnight’s back and reached his hand down for Stiles.

“We have to go now Stiles!”

“We can’t just leave them Derek.” Stiles uttered as Derek pulled him up onto Midnight.

“We don’t have a choice right now Stiles. I have to get you out of here.”  Derek squeezed Midnight’s sides and the horse took off.  Derek held on tight to Midnight’s mane and Stiles held on tight to Derek as they galloped away from the enemy’s camp with only the moon to guide them.  A few soldiers try to stop them, but Midnight was just too fast for them and they made it out of the camp without any trouble.  The only sound they heard as they rode away was the sound of men shouting and swords clashing together.

**▪▪▪**

They rode for about three hours looking back every once in a while to make sure no one had followed them. Derek finally thought it was ok to stop when they came across and old shack that had seen better days.  They both got off of Midnight and stretched their legs.  Two men on a horse without a saddle was complete torture.  “Where are we?”  Stiles asked.

“We’re on the outskirts of Brentwood, about a mile or two from the main road. Thank God the moon and stars were out or I would have never been able to figure out where we were until daybreak.”  Derek patted Midnight’s neck and then walked towards the door.  He didn’t have to worry about Midnight wandering off; his horse was too well trained to do anything foolish like that.  With a little effort Derek was able to get the door to the shack open.  Stiles and Derek were hit with a gust of the old musty smell of the shack.

“It smells like something died in here. Twice!”  Derek had to agree as he covered his nose and walked inside.  It was dirty, dusty, and everything was covered in cobwebs.  Derek walked over to the far walls and flicked the latches to open some of the windows and let some of the moonlight in.  The one room shack had some basic furniture and that was about it.  Derek did some exploring in some of the boxes that were lying in a corner.

“Ah ha!” Derek wailed out in victory when he found an old blanket in one of them.  He smacked off some of the dust and laid it down on the floor.  “We’ll sleep here for a few hours and as soon as it gets light enough, we’ll head to the castle.  We should get there a little bit after midday.  Derek went down to his knees and lied down on his back.  He patted the side next to him.  “You should get some sleep Stiles.  We have a long ride ahead of us.”

“How can you even think about sleep when our friends are back there in that camp with Peter and his army? Who knows what’s he’s doing to them.”

Derek sighed. “Stiles, making sure we got you out of there was our friends’ main concern.  The whole point of this trip was to make sure you get to Brentwood, so you can meet the princess and marry her.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “That’s all you really care about isn’t it?”  Stiles shouted.  “Making sure I get to bloody Brentwood and marry that bloody stupid princess, so that the two kingdoms can form an alliance and combine armies.”  Stiles put his hands on his hips.  “Our friends are out there right being tortured or even…even worst and you just care about getting me married off as soon as possible.  You don’t care about anybody, but yourself.”

Derek got back on his feet. “Is that what you really think Stiles?”  Derek said slowly with no hint of emotion in his tone.  “You think I really don’t care about anybody, but myself.”  Derek moved forward and got right in Stiles’ face.  “Everything I’ve done these past five years has been for the good of the kingdom.  I’ve had to put my emotions to the side to honor the oath I made to your father when I became a knight.  I’m stressing over what might be happening to our friends right now, but I have to keep moving forward.  They wouldn’t want Peter to win this war and neither should you!”  Derek finished yelling at was breathing hard as he and Stiles stared right into each other’s eyes.

A lot of things ran across Stiles’ mind as to what Derek could have done to him just then. He thought Derek could have shaken him, yelled at him some more or maybe even walked away.  Grabbing his face and kissing him was not even in the top 100 guesses Stiles could have made, but that’s what Derek did.  He kissed him until he stole Stiles’ breath away.  Stiles used to dream about what Derek’s kisses would be like.  None of those dreams even came close to how passionate a kiss they were sharing really was.

Stiles was having trouble thinking as Derek plundered his mouth. At first, he thought he was dreaming, but nope he was definitely sharing a kiss with Derek.  Derek eventually pulled away and the fiery look in Derek’s eyes let Stiles know he meant business.

Derek cupped Stiles face. “You are the only person in this world that I care about Stiles enough to keep fighting for.”  Derek searched Stiles’ eyes.  “I’m sorry I was so afraid to tell you how much I care, but now if you will allow me to, I’m going to show you.”  Stiles just nodded his head because he was at a loss for words.  Derek smiled at him.  He leaned his head down and started kissing Stiles again as he lowered them both to the ground.  Derek laid down right on top of Stiles and he started kissing down the side of Stiles’ neck as he rubbed the lower halves of their bodies together.  Derek was driving Stiles out of his mind with the sensual kisses he was laying on his body.  “If we weren’t on the run right now for our lives, I would take my time kissing every inch of your body.”  Derek announced making Stiles shiver.  Derek continued to move back and forth from kissing Stiles’ neck and mouth.  Stiles loved that Derek was finally kissing him how he dreamed for years that he would, but he wanted more.  Stiles grabbed Derek’s shoulder and flipped them, so that he could be on top.  Derek laughed against Stiles’ mouth.

Derek started picking up on the signals Stiles was throwing his way and he started to go further. He moved his hands down Stiles’ back until he reached Stiles’ ass.  He put one of his hands down the back of Stiles’ loose pants and cupped his ass.  His other hand was rubbing over the front of Stiles’ pants over the thick bulge Stiles had.  Stiles brought his hand down to help Derek rub that bulge.  “Derek, I’m aching here.”  Stiles said in between kisses.

“I know Sprout. Bear’s going to take care of that for you.  Just give me a moment to get you out of these pants.”  Derek growled in Stiles’ ear making him shiver.  Derek went to pull Stiles’ pants off and Stiles quickly helped him get them down to around his ankles, so that Derek could have access to the area that was begging for Derek to show it some attention.  Derek, the bastard, stared down at Stiles’ straining cock and just smiled.

“Bear! Touch me or something I’m dying here.  Stiles grabbed his own cock and started stroking it watching Derek and willing him to touch him.  “Derek, I’ve waited for this for so long.  Please take me!”  Derek wrapped his hand over Stiles’ and together they stroked Stiles’ cock up and down.

“Shh Sprout it’s ok. I got you.”  He kissed Stiles to keep him from whimpering with need.  “Bear has you.  I’m not going to bed you Sprout because we don’t have what we need here to make the first time enjoyable for you.”

“What?!!! Bear, no I can handle it.”

“No Sprout. I refuse to hurt you.  I’m going to do something else that will still make you feel good and sate that fire you’re feeling.”  Derek took his hand off of Stiles’ cock and moved his hand down lower to rub over the little pink hole Stiles had between his legs.  “No matter how good it will feel to be inside of you, I’m not going to hurt you Stiles.  I care about you far too much to ever intentionally hurt you.”  Derek kept rubbing over Stiles’ hole as he leaned down and took Stiles’ cock into his mouth.

Prince Stiles had a lot of education during his younger years about vocabulary and how to speak like an intelligent member of the Royal Family. All of that education went out the window when he first felt Derek take him into his mouth.  “Ohmyugghh.”  Was the only sound the prince was able to get out as he felt the sensations course through his body.  He didn’t know whether he should push forward into Derek’s mouth more or push back on the fingers rubbing on his hole.  The pleasure he was receiving right then was like nothing he had ever felt before.  His toes were curling and all he could do was let out soft and loud moans.  Derek was using his mouth and tongue to do extraordinary things to the prince’s cock and he was loving every minute of it.  “BLOODY HELL!”  Stiles shouted when Derek swallowed all of his cock.  He knew Derek was toying with him as he moved up and down swallowing Stiles and then letting him go.  It was driving Stiles insane with pleasure.  Suddenly Derek stopped, and Stiles wanted to cry at the loss of the good feelings he was having.  “Why’d you stop?”

Derek grinned from ear to ear. “I just wanted to make sure I’m doing this right.  This is my first time having another man’s cock in my mouth.”

“You’re doing great. Don’t stop!”  Stiles ordered as he pushed Derek’s head down making him laugh as he took Stiles’ cock back in his mouth, but first he stuck one of his fingers in his mouth to wet it and then returned it to Stiles’ hole.  Stiles jumped a little bit when he felt Derek’s finger enter him without any warning.  Stiles forgot all about Derek sucking his cock and focused on the finger moving around in his body.  Derek brushed over something inside of him that made his whole body tingle.  Derek could tell Stiles liked when he rubbed that spot so he did it over and over again until Stiles couldn’t take it anymore and he released inside Derek’s mouth and Derek didn’t even bat an eye.  He swallowed all five of Stiles’ spurts of release down his throat.

“How was that?” Derek smirked as he came up off of Stiles’ cock and licked his lips.

“W-where…did you learn to do that?” Stiles could barely breathe.

Derek shrugged. “When you train with a bunch of men for years, you hear a lot of things, some of useful, some of it not.”

Stiles blinked. “You’re amazing.”  Stiles panted out as he leaned up to attack Derek’s mouth.  Stiles flipped Derek over to his back and leaned over him while never breaking their kiss.  Stiles could feel that Derek was still hard as the thick bulge pressed against his belly.  Stiles broke the kiss and started kissing Derek’s neck.  Stiles moved down to kiss Derek’s chest and stuck his tongue out to lick at the little hairs on Derek’s stomach that led down to Derek’s crotch.  Stiles brought his hands up to touch the tie of Derek’s pants. Derek put his hand on top of Stiles’ to keep him from untying his pants.  “Stiles you don’t have to return the favor.  I just wanted to give you pleasure.  I don’t expect anything in return.”

Stiles smiled and moved up quickly to press a kiss to Derek’s lips. “I want to do this Derek.  Since you’re afraid to bed me—,”

“I told you I don’t want to hurt you!”

“—I want to make the man that I love feel just as good as he made me feel.” Stiles winked at Derek and batted away his hands.  He untied Derek’s pants and pulled them down Derek’s legs.  Derek’s cock sprung up and Stiles took a moment to stare at the magnificence of it.  “It’s so beautiful.”

Derek snorted. “It’s just a cock Stiles.  No different than any other bloke’s…ooohh!”  Stiles brought his mouth down and sucked in the head of Derek’s cock.  Stiles ran his tongue over the head like Derek had done to his.  He pressed little kisses to it and raised his head to stare at Derek.

“Your cock is not like anyone else’s. It’s a thing of beauty.”  Stiles brought his right hand up to stroke Derek’s cock for a few seconds before he took it into his mouth again.  Derek gritted his teeth to keep from moaning and continued to look at Stiles taking more of his cock into his mouth.  Derek gently placed one hand on the top of Stiles’ head and the other he used to gently brush Stiles’ cheek up and down.  Stiles let out an internal sigh of relief that Derek liked what he was doing.  He wanted nothing more than to please Derek like Derek had done him.  The prince felt a little self-conscious because he was not as experienced as his handsome knight.  Stiles knew to cover his teeth as he went down more on Derek’s cock trying to take more in.  He went to fast and had to stop because he almost gagged.

“Just a little bit at a time Sprout. Don’t force yourself.  I know I’m pretty big.”  Stiles rolled his eyes and smacked Derek’s hip for how smug he sounded saying that.  Stiles could feel just how big he was as he once again tried to go further down on Derek.  He gave up after he had about six inches in his mouth.

_I don’t understand. How could Derek take all of me when he’s never done this either, but I can only get about two-thirds of him inside my mouth._   Stiles growled in frustration as he continued to suck on the portion of Derek’s cock that he did have in his mouth.

“AHHHH! DO THAT AGAIN!!!”  Derek roared as he felt the sensual vibrations on his cock.  No women had ever made him have that feeling before and it almost did him in.  He gripped Stiles’ head tighter as Stiles started moaning around his cock making the vibrations surround Derek’s cock.  Stiles was a novice when it came to pleasuring a man, so he just took cues from Derek to figure out what Derek liked.  The prince was trying to copy some of the things Derek had done to him and it seemed to be working as Derek’s grip on Stiles’ head got tighter and tighter the more Stiles sucked him off.

Since Stiles wasn’t able to get all of Derek in his mouth, he brought his hand up and stroked the portion of Derek’s cock that Stiles couldn’t reach with his mouth. Derek didn’t seem to mind as he kept letting out little moans and groans here and there.  Even though Stiles had wanted to go further with Derek tonight, this still felt good to him.  The dirty books Stiles had secretly bought in the market did not prepare him at all for the intense pleasure he felt when Derek took all of his cock into his mouth.  Although the feeling of sucking Derek off and having had Derek do the same to him was great, it didn’t compare to the joy Stiles felt when Derek said he had no interest in Kate and kissed him.  _Derek likes me! He really likes me!_   Stiles was brought out of his happy thoughts by the sound of Derek shouting.

“Stiles I’m about to burst. Pull off.”  Derek tried to pull Stiles away from his cock, but the prince wouldn’t budge.  “Stiles let go!”

_He must be crazy if he thinks I will let go now._   The prince tightened his mouth and bobbed his up and down faster bringing Derek closer and closer to the edge.

“Stiles I can’t…I can’t stop!” Derek shouted as came and blasted Stiles’ mouth with jets of his release.  Stiles pulled back a little so he could swallow every bit of what Derek was offering.  Once Derek had spurt out the last bit of his release he dropped his hands to his sides and fell back on the ground.  Stiles continued sucking and licking the head making sure he got every last drop of Derek’s release.  Derek groaned, but this time in a painful way.  “I’m too sensitive Stiles.”  He was finally able to pull the prince off of his cock and he dragged him back up so that they could kiss and share the last remaining elements of Derek in Stiles’ mouth.  Derek pulled back and smiled at Stiles as he put his hands behind his head and watched Stiles pull his pants back up.  Stiles laid his head down on Derek’s chest and rested on top of him.  “I’m not sure the King would be happy to know of his son’s recently discovered hidden talents.”  Derek stated.

Stiles and he busted out laughing. “You are correct about that.  If you don’t tell him, I won’t either.”

Derek brought one hand down and started running his fingers through Stiles’ hair. “You have my word as a Knight of Beacon Hills that the King will never hear about your talented mouth from me.”  Derek fisted his hands in Stiles’ hair for a second.  “I will make sure no man _ever_ hears about your talented mouth or else I will have to kill them.”

“Sir Derek you say the sweetest things sometimes.” Stiles jested.

**▪▪▪**

Stiles’ shirt was soaked as he jolted awake from the nightmare he was having. His heart was beating really fast and he took deep breaths to bring his heart rate back down.  Stiles was glad he didn’t wake Derek up, but Derek had felt him move and subconsciously reached his arm out for Stiles to bring him closer to his body.  Stiles gladly went and brought his head down on Derek’s shoulder.  Stiles concentrated on Derek’s chest going up and down as Derek slept on.  He didn’t want to think about the horrible dream he just had, but he couldn’t help it because it scared him so much.

 

_Stiles had dreamed that he and Derek were walking along the shore of a pond laughing and holding hands. Derek was leaning down to kiss him when they heard a noise.  They both turned and saw Peter and a group of his men stepping out of the woods.  They had their swords drawn and they were outnumbered.  Derek drew his sword out anyway and pushed Stiles behind him.  “Run Stiles!”  Derek shouted at him and then he turned to face their assailants as they started sword fighting with Derek.  Stiles tried to run forward to help him, but two of Peter’s men held Stiles back by grabbing his arms._

_Stiles fought against but they held him back and all Stiles could do was call out Derek’s name. Derek was fighting against three men at once, but it all ended when Peter snuck up behind him and literally stabbed him the back.  Derek fell to his knees as blood started seeping out.  He turned to look at Stiles and then he fell dead to the ground.  Stiles screamed and he started crying as he saw Derek fall._

Stiles shivered as he thought about his dream again. He cuddled up closer to Derek and traced his fingers over Derek’s face.  “I won’t let you die Derek.  No matter what it takes, I won’t let you die.”  Stiles whispered.

**▪▪▪**

Derek scrunched his face when he turned his head to the left and the sun shone through the window and hit him in the eyes. Derek turned his back the other way and twisted onto his side.  He yawned and stretched out his arm to bring Stiles closer to his body, so that they could spoon for a little while longer before they had to get on the road again.  Derek patted the area next to him and all he felt was the sack they had slept on.  Derek opened his eyes and looked around the old shack.  Stiles was nowhere to be found. _He’s probably outside looking for food_.  Derek raised his arms above his head and stretched his body.  He tied up his pants and got up off the floor.  Derek walked towards the door and opened it.  He went outside to see where Stiles had wandered off to.

“Stiles?” Derek shouted.  He got no answer and he started to worry.  He walked around to the side of the shack and he discovered something else that made him really uneasy.  Midnight was gone and that could only mean one thing.  Stiles had left him and ridden on to Brentwood without him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for how long it took me to get this chapter out. Thank you all for the comments and kudos. I really do appreciate them. You all know the drill, next chapter will be up soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to make it clear: when I say next chapter will be up soon, just think of it as a broad interpretation. I've been slacking on my writing and I'm going to try and do better, but it's hard to find time to write, so I hope you all understand and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

The guards on duty this morning were getting antsy.  They only had a half hour more on their shift before they could leave and retire to their beds.  Although it was almost midday, they had been on watch since four this morning.  They couldn’t wait for their shift to end and they prayed that nothing came up doing the last part of their shift that would require them to stay on it longer.  Ten minutes later they found that their prayers had gone unanswered when they heard the sound of hoof beets on the ground rapidly approaching the castle gates.

“Unknown rider approaching!”  The captain of the morning shift guards yelled.  “Stand ready!”  All of the guards around the castle gates aimed their bows down at the unknown rider as the rider brought his horse to a halt in front of the gates.  “Remove your hood and state your business!”  The rider removed his hood that was covering his head so that the guards were able to get their first look on at the unknown rider.  The guards were stunned because of the man sitting on top of the dark black horse that was just made to be a warhorse, looked like he belonged in a ballroom or writing poetry somewhere, rather than a battlefield.

“I am Prince Stiles of Beacon Hills.  I believe you have been expecting me.  I have urgent business to discuss with King Alan and would like entrance into the kingdom.”

“Prince Stiles.”  The guard snorted.  “We expected him two days ago.”  The guard narrowed his eyes and said skeptically, “The prince _and_ his guards.  There is no way the prince would just show up by himself on the back of a warhorse.”

Stiles held up his signet ring that had his family’s crest on it.  Although the guards were too far away to actually see the crest, they could clearly see the dark red ruby the crest was engraved on.  Even the guards knew that the Royal Family of Beacon Hills had rubies as their regal symbol.  “May I see the king now?  I will explain to _him_ why I have shown up by myself.”

“Open the gates!  Prince Stiles has arrived.”  The guards quickly moved to get the gates opened.

Stiles sat back on Midnight with a satisfied smirk.  As soon as he saw the gates go up, he urged Midnight forward inside the castle grounds of Brentwood.  Five guards came forward to meet Stiles and help him down from Midnight.  “Don’t worry your Majesty.  We will take care of your steed for you.”

“Please do.  That horse belongs to somebody very important to me.”  Stiles patted the side of Midnight’s neck bidding him farewell for now and then walked off to follow the two guards that were in charge of escorting him into the castle.

**▪▪▪**

“Our scouts have been scouring the castle borders on the north and the south side with no sign of Peter’s camp your Majesty.”  Sir Frederick announced to King John as they stood over a map of the kingdom that was used to create war strategies.

“Tell them to keep looking.  Search the east and west side!  We need to find his campground.  I can feel we are on the brink of war and we need to be ready when that day comes or else we all will die.”  King John said.

“I will King John.  Rest assured we will stop Peter and he will pay for his crimes against the kingdom.”  Sir Fredrick leaned down over the map and started making marks over the areas his men had already searched.  King John walked away from the table and went to sit down at his desk to read over some letters he had been sent by some of his advisors.  He jumped when there was a loud knock at the door to his private study.  Sir Frederick rushed to quickly answer the door.

One of the servants that worked at the castle stood on the other side of the door breathing heavily.  “Greetings Sir Frederick!”  The servant got out between huge gasps trying to get his breath back.  “A messenger just delivered this urgent letter that King John needs to see immediately.  The messenger claimed to have been sent by the enemy Warlord Peter Hale.”  The servant cried.  King John stood up immediately and Sir Frederick grabbed the message the servant carried and thanked him as he shut the door in his face.

“Here you go Sire.”  Sir Frederick handed off the message to King John so could break the seal.  The king furiously began reading the contents inside the letter having some of his worst fears confirmed.  The King cursed in despair after he finished reading the message.  He looked up at Sir Frederick with a look of despair on his face.  “What did my treacherous brother say to cause that look upon your face?”

“He has our sons.”

**▪▪▪**

“He stole three of my cows your Majesty!  I know he did!”  One of the local farmers, Thomas, said with menace as he stared at his alleged thieving neighbor, Benedict.

_Sometimes I wish I could just run away and go live by the lake as a fisherman.  Anything would be better than having to sit here and listen to some of these pitiful squabbles amongst the villagers, especially Thomas’ complaints.  Every other week he is accusing somebody of something._   King Alan thought as he sat on his throne and listened to the fifth case brought before him today.  “Do you have proof that your neighbor stole your cows?”

“Yes, of course I do Your Majesty.”  King Alan nodded for the villager to continue.  “If you count up all of _his_ cows, you’ll see that he has three extra cows that weren’t there before.”

“I have over a hundred cows!”  The alleged Benedict claimed without right disgust at the suggestion.

“You have a 103!  Count them and you’ll see I’m not lying about this King Alan.”

“Do you know how long it will take to do that?”  The two neighbors started bickering back and forth.

“No one is going to count anything!”  King Alan yelled so he could be heard.  “I’ve had about enough this pointless argument.  This is what we’re going to do and Thomas if I ever see you in here again without sufficient evidence, so help me I’ll—.”

“Your Majesty Prince Stiles of Beacon Hills has just arrived!”  One of the guards announced as he burst into the room.

“Prince Stiles?  Are you certain?”  King Alan sat up straighter.

“Yes, King Alan.  We saw his signet ring.  He arrived by himself on horseback a moment ago and has requested an audience with you immediately.”

“Well, bring him in.  Gentlemen, I’m sorry, but you must leave now.  I will get some of my guards to send word to you both of my decision on this case later.  Guards please escort them out.”

“But my cows—.”  Thomas protested as he and Benedict were lead out of the room.  The door slammed shut and then a minute later it opened again as two guards escorted Prince Stiles inside the grand throne room.  King Alan assessed the prince as he walked into the room.  Prince Stiles looked like he had gone through a rough ordeal in order to get here and the king was instantly concerned about what the prince might have come across.

Stiles walked in and kneeled, as it was custom to do when visitors came, before the King.  “King Alan, it is a pleasure to see you again.  I’m sorry for my appearance and my tardiness.”

“You have nothing to apologize for Prince Stiles, but I would like to know why you are so late in arriving here.  We expected you and your party to arrive two days ago.”

“We hit an unexpected bump in the road on our way here.  My party is not with me right now because we were captured by Peter’s second in command, Kate Argent, and a few of her men.  She brought us to Peter’s camp and he held us prisoner.  My men and I attempted to escape that night, but I was the only one able to get away.”  _Best not to tell them about Derek just yet.  I know he’s angry at me right now, but I’m doing this for him.  I refuse to let him die._

“I’m sorry to hear that Prince Stiles.  I fear we are only a few days away from war now based off how frequently Peter’s men have taken to attacking our two kingdoms.  Just this past week he hit another of Brentwood’s smaller villages.  The sooner you marry my daughter, the better off we’ll be with a conjoined army.”

“I couldn’t agree more King Alan.”  _There, that sounded convincing even to me._

**▪▪▪**

“Make sure the horses and my traveling bags are ready to go within the hour!”  King John ordered a servant to do as he rushed from place to place making sure he had everything he would need for his journey to Brentwood.  Since the king had no idea where Peter’s camp was, the next best thing he could do to try and save his son and his friends was to go to Brentwood and plan what he and King Alan were going to do.

“King John, I beg of you to think about what you are planning to do!”  Sir Frederick yelled as he ran to catch up with the king.  “Are you sure the best thing to do right now is to be leaving the safety of the castle?”  Frederick said as he walked in step with the king down the hallway.

“That monster has our sons Fred!”

“I know that, and for that alone I want to kill him, but in that letter he asked you to surrender of the kingdom in exchange for their safe return.  Do you think it’s best to leave and travel to Brentwood?  He probably has men scouting out all of the major roads and you going and getting yourself captured won’t help anyone.”

“I can’t sit around and do nothing.  Peter has just made an official declaration of war by capturing our sons!  King Alan needs to be made aware of the new circumstances, so that he can be prepared.”

“Why not just send a messenger to deliver the news to him?”

“There’s no reason to when I’m perfectly capable of giving him the news myself in the same amount of time a messenger could do it.”  King Alan opened the doors to his bedchambers and turned to stare at his oldest friend with a stern look on his face.  “Are you coming or not Fred?  I need to get ready and you’re wasting my precious time.”

Sir Frederick took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling asking for strength.  “I’m coming!  At least if I’m there, you’ll have a better chance of making it to Brentwood you stupid old fool.”  Sir Frederick shook his head and turned to walk off to his own bedchambers.

“Hey!  I could have you executed for insulting the King!”

Sir Frederick snorted and turned around.  “Now who’s wasting time?”

**▪▪▪**

“There are at least 500 men that I could count right off the back.  They seemed to have a healthy supply of artillery that they probably stole from the villages they raided.”  Stiles proclaimed to Captain Charles Dalton, the Leader of Brentwood’s army, and King Alan and few other military leaders.

“With so many men how were you even able to escape?”  King Alan asked with confusion written all over his face.

“In my youth, I picked up some useful skills on how to manipulate locks and fortunately it was nighttime and most of the men had been drinking.  I was able to unlock our cages, and my men and I escaped and stumbled upon the artillery tent.  We stole some weapons and were able to reach the area where the horses were being held.  We could have all gotten out if some drunken fools hadn’t spotted us and woke the whole camp up.”

“Manipulating locks?”  Captain Charles asked.  “Those are some useful skills indeed.”

“I would have to agree on that.”  King Alan said.

“How did the soldiers look?  Do they look like fighters or weak men that could be easily slaughtered?”  Captain Charles asked.

“Some men can be easily defeated, but others looked like they have trained for war before.”  Stiles spent over an hour answering questions and discussing the recent raids Peter’s men had done on the villages in Brentwood.  Stiles also talked about Peter’s plan for creating an empire.

“He wants us to just surrender our kingdoms?”  King Alan said skeptically.

“He the likelihood of that actually happening is very farfetched, so he’s preparing for war.  Trust me, he shows no fear for all of the destruction he is getting ready to cause.”

“You said the head of your Royal Guard is his nephew.  How do you know that this ‘Sir Derek Hale’ isn’t really in cahoots with him?  They were able to trick you so easily in order to capture you after all.  Maybe Peter’s second in command, was given word ahead of time of your pending travels to Brentwood.”  One of the Junior Commanders said.

Stiles said nothing as he calmly took the sword, given to him after he was allowed to bathe and change clothes, and held it up to the man’s throat.  “I advise you to never speak another ill word about my knight again or I will slit your throat and insides within the blink of an eye and not give a second thought about doing so.  The same goes for the rest of you.”  Stiles calmly stated in a voice that sounded like steel it was so cold and emotionless.  The look of promised death in the prince’s eyes made the man instantly start sweating and looked around at the other men in the room for help, but no one came to his rescue.  “Do you understand?”

“Y-y-yes.”  The frightened man stuttered out.  Stiles gave a swift nod of his head in approval and went back to talking with the other men again.  They kept talking until a knock interrupted them.

“Enter.”  King Alan said.

A servant opened the door and bowed before he spoke.  “Apologies Your Majesty for interrupting, but the Princess is requesting to speak with you.  She demands to meet the Prince and will not be deterred any longer.”

King Alan rolled his eyes and muttered underneath his breath, “That girl!”  “I’m sorry men, but my daughter won’t stop bugging the servants until she gets her way, so I’m going to have to ask you all to leave now.  We can discuss plans more tomorrow at the same time.”  All of the men agreed and got up to leave the room.  The Junior Commander that made Stiles made moved so fast, he was the first one out of the room, even though he was the farthest one from him.  “It seems you made quite an impression on him Prince Stiles.”  King Alan patted Stiles’ shoulder.  “You’re going to need that attitude when it comes to my daughter.  I love her, but God help me, sometimes I just want to push her off on someone to take responsibility of.”  The king eyed Stiles up and down and smirked.  “I guess now that you’re here, my wish will come true after all.”

Stiles shrugged and chose to ignore that last comment.  “He shouldn’t have insulted one of my father’s most loyal men.  Derek is the true meaning of what it means to be a knight and I will slay anyone that disagrees or bad mouths him.”

“It sounds like you two are very close.”

“We are.  I trust him in regards to everything and I would lay down my life for him.”

“I hope that same loyalty will be bestowed upon me once we’re married.”  A feminine voice said from the doorway making the men turn to look at where the voice came from.  The apologetic looking servant that interrupted them was behind the woman that was clearly the princess based off of the fancy green dress she was currently wearing..

“I couldn’t stop her Sire.”

“It’s quite alright Jeffrey.  You are dismissed.”  King Alan walked forward and grabbed his daughter’s hand.  “Child, you are supposed to wait for the servants to introduce you.”

“I was sick of waiting to meet my intended.”  Princess Lydia declared.  She patted his arm and then looked at Stiles with a sweet smile plastered on her face.  “Is this him father?”

“Yes, my dear, sweet Lydia, this is him.  Prince Stiles allow me to introduce you to my wonderful daughter Lydia.  Lydia, this is the valiant Prince Stiles of Beacon Hills.”  Stiles moved forward, so he could kiss the princess’ hand.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you Princess Lydia.”  _I guess she’s pretty, which is a good thing if we’re going to be married.  I’ve never seen someone with such bright red hair though.  Wait…doesn’t red hair mean she has a fiery temper?_

“Likewise.”  Lydia said.  Although Princess Lydia was smiling at Stiles, he couldn’t read her eyes at all.

“Well, now that introductions between you two have finally been made, I will leave you two alone, so that you can get to know one another.”  King Alan smiled at the two royal heirs and walked out of the room leaving them alone.  Once they heard the door shut, Princess Lydia and Prince Stiles stood there and stared at each other; for over five minutes without saying a word.  Finally, Stiles chose to break the awkward silence.

“I’m usually more talkative than this I swear.”  Stiles said and then became interested in a certain spot on the floor.

“I am usually as well.”  Lydia said quietly.

“Well, look at that!”  Stiles teased.  “We have something in common already, we both like to—.”

“I don’t want to marry you.”  Lydia just blurted out and then instantly covered her mouth.

“Um…ok.”

“Apologies.  I don’t know why I just said that—well I do, but I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that.”

“It’s perfectly fine.  If we’re both being honest here, I don’t want to marry you either.”

“You don’t?”  Lydia raised one eyebrow.

“No, I don’t.  I’m actually in love with someone else, and they are the reason I agreed to this arranged marriage.”

“Why did you?”

“This upcoming war will affect us all very badly if our forces aren’t strong enough to defeat Peter.”

“This woman must be very important to you.”  Lydia had a soft look in her eyes.

“Yes, I _Derek_ means everything to me.”

“D-did you j-just say Derek?”

“Yes.  I’m in love with the head of my Royal Guard.”

Princess Lydia’s eyes almost popped out of her head.  “Oh…well that’s um…that’s nice.”

“If you don’t want to marry me either, why are you going through with this?  Or are you planning something to get out of it?”

“I…I’m going to go through with it because it is what is best for the kingdom and to be a good Queen, you always must do what is best for the kingdom.”  Stiles nodded.  “At least you’re not ugly like I feared you were, so it will be easier to marry you.”

“Why did you think I was ugly?  I’m said to be one of the most handsomest princes this side of Westlands.”  Stiles said with a sniff.

Lydia rolled her eyes.  “That is what my father said, but he would say anything if he thought it would make me want to marry you.”

“I get that, but you do agree I’m handsome right?”

“Ah…I guess you good looking enough.”

“I’ll take it!”  Stiles and Lydia both laughed.  “How about we sit down and talk about our upcoming nuptials.”

“Sure.  You can also tell me about this Derek you’re so in love with.”

Stiles’ eyes lit up.  “He’s even more handsome than me and that’s saying something.  Sonnets could be written off his body alone.”

**▪▪▪**

PAST: THE PREVIOUS NIGHT

“I want all of the men that were supposed to be watching the prisoners tonight executed immediately.  I have no room for mistakes in my army when we’re preparing for war.”  Peter yelled at Kate as he paced back and forth in front of the captured men.  Peter had them roughed up a little bit for their attempt at escaping.  He would make sure this time that weren’t strong enough to escape.  He was furious that Derek and the Prince, his main two bargaining chips, had escaped, but luckily King John didn’t know that.  He still had a chance that his plan could work out; he just needed to change some plans around.

“They will be taken care of Peter.”  Kate said as she sat in a chair waiting out Peter’s tantrum.  “They will be an example for the rest to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“And what of Derek and that simpering prince?”

“We have men out there right now searching in every direction for them.  We know they are heading towards Brentwood, so all we need to do is find them before they reach the castle grounds.”

“Make sure they are found.  I don’t want our enemies learning of anything that can be used against us.”  Peter stopped in front of the prisoners.  “Take them back to their tent, but this time make sure they remain in chains.”  Kate nodded and motioned for her men to get the prisoners on their feet.  The men forced the prisoners towards the entrance of the tent and Kate was right behind them, but before she could leave, Peter called to her.  “Kate, I think we need to think about moving camp just to be safe.”

“I agree.”

“Also, I want a message send out to the Oni.  It’s time our secret weapon be contacted.”

“Will do.”  Kate walked outside and followed the prisoners back to make sure they stayed put in their tent.  “Be on high alert tonight and make sure they don’t try anything else.”  Kate told her men.

“Yes Mistress.”  Kate walked away and the three guards left to watch over the prisoners took over their posts.

Inside the tent, the prisoners looked at each other with dire looks etched all over their faces.  “Did you hear what Peter said?”  Isaac whispered so the guards outside couldn’t hear him.

“Yes, and none of it was good.”  Scott commented.

“If Peter’s working with the Oni, then we’re all in trouble.”  Parrish proclaimed.

“That’s an understatement.”  Boyd said.  “If Peter has the Oni involved, then we’ve already lost the war.”

**▪▪▪**

PRESENT: THE NEXT MORNING

“Good morning Prince Stiles.  I hope you slept well.”  Princes Lydia said when she saw Stiles walk into the dining room the next morning.

“Good morning King Alan and Princess Lydia.  Yes, I did sleep well.  Thank you for asking.”  Stiles sat down at the table and waited for a servant to set a breakfast dish down in front of him.  The delicious smell of sausage and eggs hit him instantly.

“Good morning Prince Stiles.  After you finish eating, how about you and Lydia go somewhere and talk some more?  The meeting with all of the leaders in my army won’t be until later in the day, so you won’t be needed until then.”  Stiles nodded and sat down to eat his breakfast.  An hour later after everyone was done eating and finished their small talk, Lydia and Stiles got up from the table to depart from King Alan.

“Let’s take a walk in the gardens.  We’ll have more privacy there.”  Lydia suggested to Stiles and started leading him out of the dining hall.  The two said nothing as they made their way to the garden.  Although yesterday they both were happy to find out that neither of them wanted to get married, but would do it for the good of the kingdom, there was still this awkwardness that fell over both of them.

“Why is it so difficult to find the right words to say to the woman that will become my wife in a few short days?”  Stiles asked bewildered.

“Maybe it’s because up until yesterday, you never even met that woman.”

“I do believe you are right Princess Lydia.  There might not be any true feelings of love in this marriage, but at least there will be friendship.  Stiles led them over to a bench where they sat and talked for a while.  Once Stiles felt more comfortable, he decided it was time to do what he had planned on doing since he decided he would go through with the arranged marriage for real.  Stiles stood up and Lydia looked at him strangely.

“Stiles what are you doing?”  Lydia asked in shock as she watched Stiles bend down on one knee and grab her hand.

“I know we’ve been engaged to be married before we were even born, but I just don’t feel right about marrying you when I never even asked you.  Hence, being down on one knee now, so Princes Lydia of Brentwood will you marry me, Prince Stiles of Beacon Hills, so that are kingdoms can join armies and work together to stop the evil Warlord, Peter Hale, and keep ourselves from getting killed or becoming his slaves?”

Lydia brought her left hand up to cup her cheek and shook her head a couple times back and forth.  “I…I think that was the longest proposal I’ve ever heard.”  Lydia laughed.

“What do you say Lydia?  This ground is kind of hard…and cold if you haven’t noticed.”

“Prince Stiles…yes I will marry—.”

“SHE WILL NOT MARRY YOU!”  Lydia and Stiles both jumped when they heard the unexpected deep voice said.  Lydia and Stiles both turned to see a dark haired, angry looking man standing a few yards away from them with his arms crossed.  There was a large group of men standing by him as well looking like they felt out of place and a little worn out.  Princess Lydia had no idea who these men were, but Prince Stiles knew them all very well, especially the furious man glaring at them.

“Derek?”  Stiles said in disbelief, doubting the man he was seeing with his eyes.  Although it really was Derek standing there, with all of their friends around him, looking at Stiles like he wanted to kill him.

_That’s the magnificent Sir Derek Hale Prince Stiles was telling me about?_   Lydia thought to herself.  _He is handsome, but who’s that man standing next to him with the short brown hair.  Now he has a face I wouldn’t mind being forced to stare at every day._   The princess slyly looked the stranger up and down with an appreciative glance.  _Nope, I wouldn’t mind at all._   Lydia took her gaze off of the handsome unknown man to stare at Stiles’ Derek again.  The princess prided herself on being very courageous, but the intense look Derek gave her had her questioning the truth of that particular attribute.  “Um, Stiles, why does your Derek look like he wants to kill us?”

Stiles couldn’t answer, so he just shook his head no.  Stiles took a deep breath and stood frozen as Derek started walking towards them with a determined look on his face.  Derek grabbed Stiles’ face between his hands and stared Stiles down.  “You shouldn’t have left me Stiles.  Now you must pay.”  Stiles wanted to say something, but Derek brought his mouth down and covered Stiles’ mouth in one of the fiercest kisses he had ever experienced.  _Oh yes!_   Stiles thought.  _I’m definitely going to pay for leaving him_.  Stiles couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter, I might be changing up my story a little bit. Nothing bad, just some other characters my get some more time in the spotlight. Next chapter will be up soon. Thanks for the kudos and comments.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! I know I was supposed to have the next chapter up by now, but I'm getting over the last part of a bad cold and I have not found anytime to finish the next chapter. I can't guarantee it will be up tomorrow, but it will definitely be up before Saturday.


End file.
